Luna Obscura
by Shikola Krasno . Melody Canta
Summary: When senshi and humans alike start disappearing, the outer soldiers know something has to be wrong. It's Michiru's turn to investigate while Haruka distracts the princess from her friends' disappearances, but somehow, things always have the capacity to go wrong.
1. Part I: Zero

**Luna Obscura**

**A Sailor Moon Story**

All characters are the property of Naoko Takeuchi (竹内直子) and in no way are we making money off of this, nor do we own most of this story. The plotline is heavily influenced by the _Fatal Frame_ series made by Tecmo Koei Games (originally Tecmo). Anything expressed in this story that doesn't belong to either of those is ours.

FULL SUMMARY :: When senshi and humans alike start disappearing, the outer soldiers know something has to be wrong. It's Michiru's turn to investigate while Haruka distracts the princess from her friends' disappearances, but somehow, things always have the capacity to go wrong.

Rated T for intense situations, violence, mentions of suicide, murder, death, and general horror (sounds like fun, right?).

For Part I, I (Melody) will be using the Kunrei-Shiki romanization of letters with some minor adjustments. Words will be spelled how they are written (as a direct romanization) except for _youon_, which will be spelled like they sound to an English speaker (for those of you who don't know what _youon_ is, it's things like ちゃ、しゃ、しゅ、etc.. I'll try to keep this consistent. That being said, I will not be using Japanese scripts, and I'll be translating everything that I can into English equivalents, since I hate it when people have characters randomly talking in Japanese. Anything unfamiliar to people (likely Americans, since Shikola is my test subject), I'll explain down in the Author's Notes. That being said, this is written with a romanization of the Japanese names, since that's what I grew up with, and since it's taking place in Japan.

I will also not be doing honorifics; they tend to be done sloppily in fanfiction, and because I'm translating everything else, it doesn't really make sense to keep them.

This is a collaboration between Shikola Krasno and Melody Canta. This one will be done a tiny bit differently from our last one (and if you're here from our Phoenix Wright/Calling crossover, welcome back!), as I'll be writing Part I, Shikola will do Part II, and we'll collaborate again on Part III. At the same time, if you like Dangan Ronpa or the Zero Escape series, Shikola's in charge of the first half of our crossover with that, so check that out after you're done with this chapter!

There will be mild spoilers for pretty much everything except for the Stars series (this may change; we haven't finished Part III yet), but nothing too horrible. This is AU, so don't fire back at us with canon stuff; we don't care. You can probably put things together about the Fatal Frame series from this, so there are spoilers from that, if you're worried about overthinking things.

Anyways, let Part I commence!

* * *

**Part I :: Zero**

* * *

**Prologue :: Himuro**

Two months ago, Motoki Furuhata had been a typical college kid, not concerned with much more than his Political Science major and running the Crown Game Center which he'd been working at since he was a junior in High School. Now, as he stared at the Himuro Mansion, he wondered whether it wouldn't be prudent to just forget about everything that had happened and return to that idyllic life.

The mansion itself was huge; he could see that just standing outside. It extended on both sides as far as the eye could see in the fog, and had at least two stories, if not three. There were places where the exterior was starting to crumble away; even the _shinmei torii_ that he'd passed under while walking up the front steps had deep scratches in it, although from what, he didn't want to think about. It would be better if he went back to town and called the police.

But no, he couldn't do that. Makoto could be in serious danger. What if she didn't have the time for him to run back?

He swallowed the lump forming in his throat and opened the front door.

It was like there was a smoke machine running somewhere. There seemed to be a thin layer of mist in the air, distorting his vision enough to make the hairs on the back of his neck prickle. The door closed behind him, the sound reverberating among the wooden rafters with an air of finality. He took a deep breath and walked up the stairs into the foyer.

There was a giant hole in the floor, although it was too dark for him to see how far it extended. "Hello?" he called out on the off chance someone was down there, but there was no answer. Taking another deep breath, he moved on. Beyond the hole, there was a large folding screen set up in the middle of the room, a mask on the right side wall, and a door on the left. Figuring that if someone was in here, they would have called out before, he made his way to the door.

He found himself in a hallway, a mirror at the other end. His breathing became shallow as he realized there were ropes hanging from the ceiling. He'd heard rumors about the Himuro Mansion . . . but they couldn't be true.

Bolstering his confidence with that thought, he walked forward, ducking to avoid the ropes. Something caught his foot and he stumbled, glancing down to find his balance. How ridiculous; he was a college student who was afraid of a few legends. He took a deep breath, laughing at himself. Mamoru would tease him endlessly about this, were he here. The thought warmed him a little, and he glanced up, only to freeze at what he saw.

There was someone there. Right in front of him, inches from him, their back turned, walking towards the mirror. Motoki held his breath, watching as the man who looked completely white walked to the end of the hallway and seemingly vanished. He stared at the open air for a moment before rubbing his eyes. No way. He must have seen that wrong, that was all. People didn't just _vanish_, they went somewhere, so maybe that mirror wasn't a mirror or had a secret door in it . . .

Stumbling forward now, he put his hands against the mirror, feeling all around it for some secret latch or a lever or something to reveal where the man had went. "Hello!" he shouted. "This isn't funny!"

Silence.

He whipped his backpack off, rummaging around for the notebook inside. The pen he took out of his pocket, removing the cap with his teeth before squatting against a wall and starting to write.

* * *

_I don't know what's going on here. I know the legends of the Himuro Mansion, of course I do. The land was originally home to a sacred Shinto ritual (though neither Umino nor I could find any information on this ritual), but the last master of the Himuro family line massacred his entire family. They say that those spirits still haunt the mansion. Every time I try to justify those with my experiences though, I think of Ami, who would never take something like that as an answer. There has to be a logical explanation for everything I've seen so far._

_Either way, I'm not going to stick around. I'm going to find Makoto and whoever else is still in here, and then we're all going to get out of here. Hopefully they're close._

* * *

Motoki ripped the page from the notebook, folding it in half and placing it on the ground. He didn't want to think about it, but if something happened to him, someone would need to know he was still in here. The number of people he thought could be in here was . . . it was too many to believe. Makoto, Minako, Rei, Mamoru, Umino, Naru . . . all of them had gone missing, one after the other. Luckily, Umino had left a trail after he'd left to look for Makoto, and Motoki had traced it here, to the Himuro Mansion.

Hopefully, he would find them all and be the last to ever step into this place again.

He stood, putting all of the items back before looking around. The door to his right was locked, so he took the door to his left, which led to a large room with a fireplace in it. It was dark in there, and he cursed himself for not remembering to bring a flashlight, but there was light emitting from somewhere on the second floor, so he headed for the stairs in the hope that it was a lantern or something portable. As he walked towards the staircase, he felt eyes on him, and he shuddered before quickening his step. He just needed to find the others and get out of here.

Find the others and get out of here, he repeated to himself.

He jogged up the steps, repeating his new mantra. As he approached the second floor, he could see that the light was indeed a lantern, and he walked over to it, his relief growing immediately as he gained a light source. He was sure that the crazy things he'd been seeing had to be tricks of his imagination, but at least the light helped to ease his mind a little. He straightened, looking around for another door, but the only one he could see was right in front of him, and it appeared to be locked. He swung around to go back down the stairs and something flew at him, knocking him back against the wall. His vision blurred, but he could feel something around his neck, and he fought back instinctively, his hands scrambling before he had even realized what it was. Or, rather, who it was.

The man from before, the one who had disappeared into the wall, was straddling him, strangling him with both hands. That wasn't the problem (well, it was, but that was beside the point). The man was completely white. Colorless. It was like he was projected in the fog, and had Motoki not felt the hands on his throat or felt the weight on his stomach, he would have thought that the man wasn't even there. No, this man was real. With a cry, he pushed the man away, and the man vanished momentarily, leaving Motoki enough time to get to his feet. He knew where an opened door was, and he wasn't about to wait around any longer. He threw himself down the stairs, jumping over the railing when he saw the man lunge behind him again, and sprinted for the door to the hallway. He slammed the door shut behind him as he exited the fireplace room, and doubled over, breathing hard. The door rattled, and he froze, wondering why in the world he had thought a door would discourage a ghost, but it stayed shut and he stayed safe.

Still panting, he walked back down the hallway. _Ofuda_, he decided. He would need lots of _ofuda_. Hell, he'd carry around an entire _shiisaa_ in his backpack if it would ward off that man. Either way, he was _not_ equipped to deal with what was in the mansion at this moment, and he needed to get out _now_.

There were footsteps coming from behind him. He almost took off running again, but they were different. First of all, the evil spirit hadn't actually touched the ground, but secondly, he knew those footsteps. They were familiar, and he turned, overjoyed, before light suddenly flooded his vision, the image of a beautiful woman imprinting itself on the inside of his eyelids.

* * *

**A/N ::**

**Melody Canta ::**

**And, there's the prologue. It's short; I'll try to get the first chapter up as soon as possible. Motoki's kind of hard to write as, since we never really get his point of view . . . anywhere.**

**A few notes about how this proceeds: I'll be meandering about the Himuro Mansion with as much detail as I can think of. I'll be referring to the rooms with their defining features. In the Fatal Frame games, you get a map that you slowly fill in. Seeing as it would be ridiculous for any character to be drawing a map, let alone naming some of the rooms what they're called (it's worse in later games, but still . . .), so I'll be calling them by the distinctive features I describe them with. That being said, if something doesn't make sense, let me know. The mansion is giant and the rooms don't connect together logically, so I may screw up from time to time.**

**This will be the last chapter I write as Motoki (thank goodness, right?), so you can speculate what happens to him.**

**Off to the next character!**

**Japanese notes:**

**_shinmei torii_**** :: A type of gate that marks entrance to a sacred place. ****_Shinmei_****_torii_**** are some of the more simple ****_torii_****, though it is made completely out of wood rather than the rope that marks ****_shime torii_**** (the torii you see at the ****_Hikawa Shrine_****).**

_**shiisaa **_**:: Okinawan mythology has a creature that is very similar to the guardian lions in Chinese mythology called a ****_shiisaa_****. They look somewhere between a lion and a dog, and most often you can see them in pairs. When Motoki talks about carrying one around, he wants one with its mouth open, which is said to ward off evil spirits (while the one with the closed mouth keeps good spirits in). While ****_komainu_**** are more common, ****_shiisaa_**** tend to be smaller, which is why it's more likely Motoki could carry one around.**

**Shikola Krasno :: I'm not a part of the first Fatal Frame run, but I'll comment anyways!**

**Yeah, as far as locations go, unless we could draw you guys a map (not that ours would be very pretty), they're just going to be tricky. That's only going to get more and more complicated with each Fatal Frame story too. In the first one it's all in and around the Himuro Mansion. In the second (which is where I'll take over), it's all over a creepy old village (so many different rooms in different buildings to worry about). And finally in the third one (where we'll both have stuff to do), one ENORMOUS mansion is magically connected to the Himuro mansion as well, plus there's what will be Ami's house to navigate through.**

**Poor Motoki. Honestly, we just needed a guy for the part of the prologue guy (in the game he's the brother of the main girl, but we chose Motoki mostly because of who our rope shrine maiden will be). Of course prologue guy is an important part of the story, so you'll see Motoki again soon enough.**

**Good to have the ball rolling again! I'm working on that Dangan Ronpa/Zero Escape story, but with school back in session I'm having a rough time working through my homework schedule. Hopefully I'll have the first chapter ready soon. Otherwise, if you're just here for Sailor Moon Fatal Frame stuff, I'll see you when Michi's story ends!**

**EDIT: Took out Unazuki's character due to later developments, 20/11/14. MC.**


	2. The Unknown

**Chapter One :: The Unknown**

Michiru parked the car on the shoulder of the highway, satisfied with her work. Though she wasn't a perfect driver by any means (in fact, Haruka said she was damn scary, though Michiru attributed that to the fact that her girlfriend never let her drive anywhere), she'd managed to get close enough to the Himuro Mansion that she could now walk. Of course a haunted mansion wouldn't have a road going to it, she mentally complained, stepping out of the car. That would be far too easy.

Slinging her purse over her shoulder, she started up the overgrown path, congratulating herself on the choice of jeans and hiking boots, two things that she rarely wore. After all, a world-class violinist would never let herself be caught out in the wilderness, and, well, all the times she had been, she'd used her _henshin_ wand to get out of it.

Of course, being a senshi as well as a world-class violinist made her a deadly combination. The topics of conversation in the upper echelons of society were available to her, and once the topics had turned to the other missing senshi, Michiru knew there had to be a problem. As an Outer Senshi, she couldn't call herself as familiar with the Inners as she'd have liked, especially now that most of them had vanished, but she'd never found a problem she and Haruka couldn't tackle, and hopefully, this was no different. After all, if things got too bad, they still had Usagi, and while they might not have the same bond as the Inner senshi, the Outer senshi were more than capable in comparison.

Trudging up the path, she gave a sigh. This was all because of the Shitennou, or so she'd like to say. After all, if they hadn't disappeared, then Mamoru wouldn't have went to look for them and everything wouldn't have gone downhill from there. Rei and Minako were next to leave, spurred into action by their princess's depression, and Makoto had left after them, which was when the media had caught wind that there were suddenly a lot more missing people than the senshi wished there were. Gurio Umino, a man who Michiru had only actually met once, had taken his girlfriend and they'd never come back, and now, only three days ago, Motoki himself had decided to look for them and disappeared.

Honestly, she could strangle them all. They might not know that the others were Sailor Senshi, but seriously, what did they think they could do? On top of being senshi, Rei was a skilled archer, and Makoto was a martial artist. If something had taken the two of them down, it was unlikely that mere humans who had no training in the face of danger would be able to save them.

She passed under the first _torii_ gate, glancing at the scratches deep in the wood. While this was the wilderness, it wasn't too far from the highway, and whatever had made those scratches had to be big. A very large bear, perhaps? Undoubtedly a Deep Submerge could take down a bear, but her senses still prickled, trying to alert her that something was wrong here. She looked around, then stopped on the path, taking the Deep Sea Mirror from her purse. She tilted it at a few different angles, trying to dispel any illusions, but nothing disappeared. She wondered if she should have left it with Haruka instead, but since it was a major weapon and she wasn't sure what she was going to be facing, she'd taken it, reassuring Haruka that they could communicate with their watches if anything went wrong.

She put the mirror back in her bag and stared at her wrist. She had a feeling, nothing more, but she'd promised Haruka she'd get out at the first sign of trouble. Besides, thanks to the sea, her feelings tended to be right. She closed her eyes, thinking it over for a moment. If she was being honest, the disappearance of the senshi concerned her, and she wanted them back as soon as possible. That being said, she'd be no help if she got caught in the same trap they had. She tapped her finger against her temple. She had options, no doubt about it. Still, she wasn't positive that the senshi were actually here, and her feelings were just that: feelings. She'd go on, and the moment something actually happened, she'd leave. After all, there was no use in going back if she didn't even know what they were up against.

She hiked up the path for a few more minutes until a giant mansion came into view. The Legendary Himuro Mansion, spread out in all of its glory. Michiru's nose wrinkled as the scent of dust permeated the air almost a full kilometer away. Either no one had been here in fifty years, or the dust had been recently kicked up by movement, which made sense, if one was following Motoki's footsteps.

Once again, she took out her mirror, still trying to figure out what felt so wrong about this place. When nothing revealed itself, she walked closer, stopping when she finally reached the front steps. Yes, she could feel _something_. The constant prickling was starting to give her a headache. She put the mirror back into her bag after checking around once again, and finally opened the cover on her Communicator watch. It immediately dialed Uranus, and after a moment, Haruka picked up. _"You still okay?"_ she asked, her voice slightly muffled.

"Yeah, I just got to the mansion."

_"Any problems?"_ Once again, her voice sounded muffled, and Michiru furrowed her eyebrows.

"What are you doing?"

There was a pause, and then a sarcastic, _"Do you know how hard it is to put on a shirt without covering up your wrist?"_

"Just put on the shirt." Michiru rolled her eyes at her girlfriend's antics, and after a moment, once the sound of rustling fabric had died down, she chuckled. "You just got out of bed?"

_"Some of us didn't feel the need to get up at the crack of dawn. Besides, like Usagi's going to wake up early for driving lessons."_

"As long as you manage to distract her for a while, I'll keep getting some information on what we're facing."

Haruka yawned. _"Right, right. So, anything so far?"_

"Not yet."

_"That didn't sound very confident."_

Michiru rolled her eyes. "I've got a feeling."

_"The sea's stormy?"_ Her voice was light, teasing, but Michiru knew she was at least semi-serious about all of it. After all, Michiru's intuition had saved them a few times.

"Something like that."

Haruka gave a sigh. _"Well, just remember. If things get weird, get out, okay?"_

"What, you don't think I can handle it?"

_"I didn't say that. But I thought the Inners could handle themselves too, and obviously, something's going on with them."_

Michiru gave a small smile. "I'll be fine. But yes, I'll turn and run if there's any problems."

_"Good. I love you."_

"I love you too. Oh, and Haruka?"

_"Hm?"_

"The ghosts of the Himuro Mansion say hi."

Haruka gave a splutter and Michiru disconnected, laughing. Though she'd have never admitted it, one of the reasons Haruka hadn't wanted to take on the Himuro Mansion alone was the legends, something which didn't bother Michiru in the slightest. Perhaps it was the fact that she had her mirror outside of her transformation, but she felt safe, protected from whatever was lurking out there. Bolstered by that thought, she put her hand on the door handle and turned.

Dust kicked up immediately as she entered, though footsteps were obvious on the ground in front of her. Someone had been in here recently, which was a good sign. Motoki, perhaps? Of course, it was possible he hadn't made it to the mansion at all, but she didn't really want to contemplate that possibility, especially if it consisted of walking around the forest to find him. Yes, she would much prefer if he was hiding somewhere in here, hopefully with the Shitennou, the missing Senshi, and all of the people who had been swept up in the excitement of the mystery.

She walked up the stairs, following the footsteps. The foyer was large, although there was a giant hole in the middle of the floor. A folding screen was on the other side, and there was a mask on the right side and a door to the left. She followed the footsteps, walking over to the door. Her hand rested on the doorknob as the prickling feeling started up again. Irritated, she threw the door open and stomped through. If her sixth sense wasn't going to be helpful, then she'd just have to start ignoring it.

And then she froze.

There was something right behind her. She could hear the creaking of the floor. Her hand grabbed her mirror, the other digging into her pocket for her _henshin_ wand, and she turned her head. There was a man in all white, with white hair; for a moment, she assumed that it was Kunzite, but no, the hair was wrong, and where Kunzite had always walked with a straight back and an arrogant glint in his eyes, this man was hunched over, limping towards the folding screen at the back of the room.

Limping the way he was, he wasn't a threat, and she pocketed her wand before running to him. "Sir!" she said, trying to catch his attention, but as she reached out for his arm, he vanished, a tiny flame left in his place. Wary now, she brought out her mirror, shining it on the wisp floating in midair, and Naru's face appeared in the mirror, her voice echoing around the empty room.

"The ropes . . . there are so many ropes now . . ."

Though Michiru's experiences with Naru were few, even she could tell that the girl's voice had a harried quality to it, like she was terrified. The wisp disappeared, leaving Michiru staring into the air. After a moment, she noticed a folded piece of paper on the floor, and she picked it up, unfolding it.

* * *

_And there's another rope! And another!_

* * *

The handwriting was neat and orderly, even if the message itself seemed like nonsense. She pocketed the note, walking back over to the door. Something weird was going on here, which meant that Motoki and the others could be in serious danger. She followed the footsteps, realizing what Naru had been talking about as soon as she stepped into the hallway. There were ropes hanging from the rafters, which made Michiru shiver. No wonder Naru had sounded scared; just the sight was enough to unsettle anyone.

There was something at the end of the hallway, Michiru could tell, but it was getting too dark for her to see. Where the roof had enough holes in it over the foyer, the hallway seemed to be completely covered. She dug through her bag, pulling out the flashlight she'd brought. She switched it on, and paused at the strange sight.

There was a mirror at the end of the hallway, and on the floor right in front of it, was a small, old-fashioned camera. Gently, she crept towards it, reaching her hand out. As soon as she touched the wood of the case, images flashed through her mind. A blonde man stood in the hallway, his eyes transfixed on something that seemed to be standing behind her. She looked back, but all she saw was a flash of brown hair, and then it was over. Michiru stared at her own reflection in the mirror. She was pale, though she would have counted that as stranger had she not just seen what she had. Her aqua hair stuck up at strange angles, and her lips trembled with each breath she released.

Something wasn't making sense, that much she knew. She took a deep breath, assessing her options.

She could leave, like she'd promised Haruka. If what she'd seen was any indication, she'd learned that Motoki had been in some sort of danger. The details were fuzzy, but between him and Naru, she wasn't sure that she wanted to know.

Or, she could stay and go further in the mansion. She hadn't transformed yet, though that would likely be necessary if she decided to go on. She herself hadn't experienced any danger, and it was possible that her talisman would protect her from everything. She took out her mirror, staring into it.

If she left now, she'd be abandoning the others until she and Haruka could investigate without sparking the princess's concern, which could take a while. Could the others survive that long? Minako and Rei had already been missing for almost two weeks. If they were injured or trapped, they could be nearing the end of their lives.

It was decided then. She would continue as long as she could on her own. If it proved to be too much for her, she would turn back, but she couldn't turn her back on her friends, not yet.

She picked up the camera, noticing the small stack of folded papers under it. She slipped the camera into her bag, assuming it would come in handy later, and picked up the top note. The handwriting, she recognized, was Motoki's.

* * *

_I don't know what's going on here. I know the legends of the Himuro Mansion, of course I do. The land was originally home to a sacred Shinto ritual (though neither Umino nor I could find any information on this ritual), but the last master of the Himuro family line massacred his entire family. They say that those spirits still haunt the mansion. Every time I try to justify those with my experiences though, I think of Ami, who would never take something like that as an answer. There has to be a logical explanation for everything I've seen so far._

_Either way, I'm not going to stick around. I'm going to find Makoto and whoever else is still in here, and then we're all going to get out of here. Hopefully they're close._

* * *

So he had been here for the same reason she had. If the flashes she had been shown were correct, he hadn't made it much farther, however, and she frowned.

The next set of papers were stapled together, all of them in the same handwriting as the note she'd found behind the folding screen.

* * *

_I promised Umino I would help, and he immediately set me on a task to find a book about different Shinto rituals all over Japan. He says that we want to be prepared before we enter the Himuro Mansion, and I agree . . . but I'm not really sure why we need a folklore book._

* * *

_So, I couldn't find the book, but I did some checking about the author, Kazuyuki Sogabe. He's originally from Egypt . . . with a Japanese name. There's nothing about him until he joined Tokyo Metropolitan University, and then all of a sudden, he just disappears. I did find a Missing Persons report, and the picture on his Author's Bio looks really similar. If it is him, he disappeared around the same time as three other men, so I might do some looking around about them too._

* * *

_It looks like the earthquake that happened last month and the murders in that village we talked about last week are somehow connected to the Himuro Mansion. Umino's talking about putting it into his first novel; he seems really into this stuff too. Of course, he wants to find the others, now that Makoto's disappeared too, but still . . . I don't really like it._

* * *

The final sheet of paper was the Missing Persons report Unazuki had referenced earlier.

* * *

_MISSING: 4 Unknown Men_

_The four were last seen at Tokyo Metropolitan University. Documents reference All Gods' Village. If you have any information about their whereabouts or the reference, please contact the police._

* * *

A picture was stapled to the bottom, and Michiru gasped as she looked into the faces of the men. From left to right was Jadeite, Zoicite, Nephrite, and Kunzite. Was Naru really insinuating that one of them had written the book that Umino was looking for? Why? What was the point?

At least it was a place to start. She shoved all of the documents in her bag before setting it on the floor and pulling out her henshin wand.

"Neptune Crystal Power, Make Up!"

Thirty seconds later, she was a senshi, complete with the tiny miniskirt and heels to match. She sighed. If only she could use her senshi powers in civilian form. The jeans and boots had been a much sturdier alternative, not to mention the dust was going to cling to her legs and that draft was kind of cold. She picked her bag back up, slinging it over her shoulder, and followed the footsteps once again.

There was a giant fireplace in the middle of this room, with knickknacks stacked on the dressers pressed up against the wall and one ornamental lion's mask that Michiru thought would have to be heavy, since it looked like it was made out of stone. She shone her flashlight over everything, walking over to another folded up piece of paper on top of a dresser. This handwriting was unfamiliar, though based on Naru's notes, she could guess whose it was.

* * *

_Ahahahahaha! My first novel is going to be FANTASTIC! I've done my research, and now, it's just time for some firsthand knowledge!_

_Here's the plot: A series of murders happens in a country village, and dead bodies start showing up with wounds similar to old Shinto rituals. The main character is a man who is sworn to revenge after his wife dies like this. He'll be more and more influenced by the legends, and suddenly, he'll be transported to the past, to fight against the spirit who is influencing the present! It'll be a bestseller for sure!_

* * *

Michiru fought the urge to bury her face in her hands. She'd barely spoken to Umino, for good reason, it seemed. As a lover of literature, she couldn't imagine this book ever becoming a bestseller. And to think, he had dragged poor Naru? Hardly forgivable.

Luckily, his next note was a bit more interesting.

* * *

_The Himuro Mansion was originally owned by (guess who) the Himuro family, but even before that, it was said to be the place where a Shinto ritual was performed. Supposedly the details of the ritual were passed down generation to generation, but it seems that they kept the ritual a deep, dark secret. They weren't supposed to speak the name, or talk about it at all, so almost no records exist, aside from some local legends. Kazuyuki Sogabe's book is supposed to outline them, but Naru says she can't find a copy. Still, it makes me wonder how he learned them._

* * *

Indeed, Michiru agreed. If Kazuyuki Sogabe was truly one of the Shitennou, how had he learned the legends well enough to write a book about them? Perhaps she was wrong? The coincidence seemed a bit too convenient though.

She stuffed the note with the others and walked towards the stairs in the back of the room. She'd barely taken two steps when her eyes widened at Motoki's profile walking up the stairs. Like the man before, he was completely white, and his head was bowed, but he didn't walk with a limp. "Motoki!" she shouted, wondering if this was just a trick of her eyes. She bounded up the stairs, but he was already walking through what looked like a wall from where she was standing, but revealed itself to be a door once she got closer.

There was a strange murmuring behind the door, and she pulled on the handle, but it stayed stubbornly shut—a bronze padlock barring the path. "Motoki!" she shouted, pounding on the door. "Furuhata, can you hear me?" The murmuring continued, and she slid down against the door, racking her brain for ideas. There was no way he could have entered and put the padlock on at the same time, but it was similarly impossible that he could have opened the door with the lock on it!

"HELLO!"

Michiru jumped, saying some very unsavory words as she turned around, looking for whatever had just shouted. "Hello?" she asked, waving her flashlight around.

"HI!" The voice was closer this time, although she still couldn't see anyone. She swung the flashlight around slowly, trying to find the source of the voice. "Down here!"

She aimed the light at the floor. Standing just a few inches away from her was a small, caramel-colored Pomeranian. His tail was wagging furiously as he looked up at her, panting. "HELLO! I'M MISSILE!"

Michiru blinked. "Hello, Missile." Talking dog. She was talking to a . . . talking dog. Honestly, with as weird as this place had been, and the fact that she knew three talking cats fairly well, a talking dog named Missile was not completely out of the question. "What are you doing here?"

"Saying hello."

"Well, obviously, but—" she cut herself off, taking a deep breath. Already she could tell she wasn't going to get the answers she wanted. With a sigh, she shook her head. "What were you doing before you saw me?"

Missile whimpered. "I saw are scary people."

"Scary people?"

He put his paws over his eyes. "Uh huh. They shout and chase me around until I bark at them and then I run again."

It sounded like Missile was having a hard time in the mansion. Of course, the "scary people" he was mentioning were concerning; it sounded like she was right once again. The Himuro Mansion was hiding something ugly. "Do you want to walk around with me then?"

He sidled up to her, and she scratched him behind the ear. "Where are we going?"

It was a good question, to be honest. "Let's look around."

She had already exhausted the doors inside of the fireplace room, so she entered the Rope Hallway again to pull on the other door, but it was also locked.

Where in the world was she supposed to go now? Umino and Naru had managed to get past there, so it had to be possible. She entered the fireplace room again, looking around. She couldn't see anything strange. She reached in her bag for her mirror. Maybe it was just an illusion that was keeping her from seeing a door.

"What about this door?" Missile asked, bounding up to the folding screen next to the stairs.

She smiled fondly at the dog. Despite the small amount of time she had spent with him, she was already a bit fond of him; he reminded her of Haruka when she was at her most enthused. "That's not a door. It's just a folding screen."

He wagged his tail. "But I've been through it before!"

That had her pausing. "What do you mean?"

"There's a hallway behind it! It's where one of the scary ladies likes to stay!"

Michiru aimed her mirror at the screen. Nothing happened. With a sigh, she went to put it back in her bag, before realizing that the filament on the camera was glowing blue. Carefully, she raised the camera, looking through the viewfinder. There were weird runes on the lens. "Way to ruin a picture," she muttered. Nothing happened until she took a step closer. The runes suddenly lit up and a blue circle formed in the center.

What was going on?

She snapped a picture, and a piece of instant film fell from the camera. Michiru picked it up, expecting to have to wave it around like other instant films, but it was completely developed already, a picture of a door on it. She looked up, confused (after all, how had she taken a picture of a folding screen and had a door show up?) but it was like the folding screen had never been there. There wasn't even a line in the dust where it had once been.

"See? I told you!" Missile said, running circles around her!

How had he known? She stared at the dog for a long minute before turning her attention to the door.

Ordinarily she might have been a bit more cautious, since she was adamant that there had been a folding screen there before she'd taken the picture, but she didn't have the luxury of time and she needed to find a way to get into the room Motoki had somehow managed to shut himself in. Even the votive lamps hanging from the ceiling, while certainly creepy, didn't give her pause. The little blue flame just inside of the door, however, did.

Once again, she pulled out her mirror, Naru's face appearing again in it. "Where is the key? Where is it!?" she asked, and then disappeared from the mirror's visage.

The key? Could Naru be looking for the same key she was now looking for?

She continued down the hall, mulling this information over. There was a door to her left as she rounded the corner, and then a large closet door at the end, and another door in an alcove to the right. The one to the left was the only one she could open, despite pulling on the closet door with all of her strength and then some. She eyed her mirror. Would a Deep Submerge take it down, she wondered briefly, and then tossed the thought aside. At least one door opened now; if, for some reason she would need in it later, she could always use her powers then.

She sighed. Usually she had to be the one reining Uranus in. Without her, it was getting a little too easy to pounce on some of her less brilliant ideas . . .

She opened the door that _would_ open, stepping into another dusty room. It was mostly blocked off with folding screens, but there was a dresser at the other end of the room. As soon as she approached it, however, Missile growled, making her jump. She took out her mirror, and, now able to see around the screens, glanced around. A man was walking across the room, but she only saw him for a second before he disappeared. She stared at the sight, her mouth hanging open.

He had vanished.

Completely.

No trace left.

Nothing.

What the hell was going on?

She walked into the center of the room, staring at the floor. He'd stopped right there. Logically, he should still be there.

She pulled out her mirror, checking around with it once again before groaning in irritation. Obviously her mirror couldn't handle whatever was going on here.

Missile was still growling. She turned to him, only to realize that it couldn't be him; he was staring up at her with wide eyes, tail wagging once again. What the hell was that noise anyways?

She tracked it down to a closet hidden behind yet another folding screen, throwing the door open in irritation. She was so done with this place. So. Done.

The source of the noise happened to be a tape recorder, and she made yet another irritated groan before reaching inside to shut it off. Her fingers brushed against it, and suddenly, the images flooded in again, just like they had when she'd grabbed the camera. This time, however, she could see Naru, running down the halls, calling for help. After a moment, she opened at the door in the hallway, the one that had led into this room, and raced inside, heading for the closet and shutting herself inside. Michiru's vision stayed outside of the closet, listening to Naru's unsteady breaths. After a second, movement made her turn her head towards the dresser. There was someone there, in a white robe, her head bowed.

Michiru's breath caught.

The person turned around, approaching the door a few steps at a time. As she approached, Naru whimpered, scrambling back against the back wall. "No, no, please, no, stop, please," she was whispering, tears coursing down her face, and Michiru stepped back, but the woman ignored her, walking towards the closet and kneeling down to Naru's level, blocking Michiru's view of the girl.

The room filled with Naru's screams.

Michiru started, as if she was waking up from a dream. The visions seemed to immobilize her body, but it seemed like she was safe, for now.

Still . . .

_Makoto_?

The woman in the white robes closely resembled the guardian of Jupiter. What had Makoto done to Naru? And, a better question; where was Naru now?

She grabbed the tape recorder this time, her hands closing around cool metal without any images. Oddly enough, it wasn't playing anything, even though there was a tape in it and the noise was still going. She furrowed her eyebrows, and, curiosity getting the better of her, pressed Play on the recorder.

Naru's voice came from the device, which made her sigh in relief, as she wasn't quite sure what she was going to hear. _"This is white tape number one. Okay, it looks like it's recording! __Anyways, we've had to ask where the mansion is from the locals, since it's not really on any map, but they keep warning us to stay away from it. Umino keeps telling me that we'll be fine, but I can't help but wonder . . ."_ The recording cut off, and Michiru sighed. Naru seemed to have a good amount of common sense. If only she'd listened to that before going into the mansion.

She stuffed the tape recorder into her bag and pulled out her mirror for reassurance. She would have called Haruka, had she been able to keep her voice from shaking, but she was sure that with what had happened in the last two minutes, she wouldn't be able to put on a brave enough face to fool the princess for long and Haruka would be too worried to sit things out. She buried her head in her hands and took a deep breath. She needed to find them now more than ever.

Michiru stepped back from the closet, casting her eye around the room before freezing. Had that door been open before?

Had there even been a door there?

Pressed against the opposite wall from the door she'd entered was an open sliding door. Had the noise distracted her so much that she'd failed to notice an open door? As a senshi, she was trained for such things; she always looked. Then again, this mansion had her confused and distracted already . . .

"There's a scary lady in there!"

Michiru jumped. She'd completely forgotten about her canine companion, thanks to the weird visions she'd received with the tape recorder. She swept her flashlight into the opening, but most of her vision was blocked by the intricate kimono that were propped up in the middle of the room on stands. "How can you tell?"

"I hear noises."

Noises could mean multiple things, including a senshi or even Naru. Perhaps the visions that she'd just had were warning her that Naru was nearby. Though the girl wouldn't be the most useful companion, she would be one off the list, and best of all, she would be _safe_.

Without hesitation, she entered the room, tempted to just push her way through the kimono before realizing just how much dust was clinging to the silk. Besides, she would be blinded momentarily, whereas if there was anyone on the other side, she might have a chance to gain the element of surprise.

She crept around, peeking her head around from behind a kimono.

Standing in the middle of the room was Naru Osaka. Much like Motoki had been when she'd seen him, she was moving, although her movements were jerky as she paced around. There was something unnatural, Michiru decided, especially over the fact that Naru's clothing choice was pure white and her hair was a muted shade of red. Sure, there was a lot of dust around here, but . . . Michiru pulled some of her hair from her face to study it. It had a dusting of grey, which she wrinkled her nose at. Perhaps it wouldn't be too farfetched to think that Naru's would be similar, after almost a week in the Himuro Mansion . . .

"Naru," she said, stepping out from behind the kimono. The girl didn't move, although there was a strange moaning coming from her. Was she perhaps injured? "Osaka!" she said, this time a little more forcefully, stepping towards the girl.

This time Naru reacted.

This time, Michiru realized something was wrong.

It wasn't just her clothing that was white. Everything was white, down to the pupils of her eyes. Her face was bloodless, her mouth stuck in a silent scream. "Help," she whimpered, and then suddenly, she lunged towards Michiru.

The feeling that seized Michiru when Naru's hands closed over her arms was cold and wet. She felt distinctly like she had been dunked in arctic waters, and she jerked back, not comprehending. How could the woman look like Naru, but feel like . . . that?

And she was still calling out for help.

And lunging.

The second time their skin connected was enough to make Michiru's knees give out. It hadn't been a fluke . . . A daimon? No, those had been gone when they'd defeated the Death Busters . . .

Still, no way around it. She would need to fight back somehow. She grabbed her mirror from her bag, thrusting it out towards the girl. "Submarine Reflection!"

The usual blast of water came, but Naru didn't even flinch. It was like the attack hadn't affected her . . . but how!? And if her senshi powers didn't work . . . how could she get out of this?

She circled around Naru, avoiding the girl's attempts at grabbing her again. Unfortunately, Deep Submerge and Submarine Violon Tide had only proven to be effective in making the tatami flooring slick. Until she could think of something, she was stuck hoping that Naru would stop on her own.

Naru lunged again, and Michiru stepped to the side, her bag catching on the dresser next to her. It slid off her shoulder and tumbled onto the floor, the papers and camera tumbling out.

The filament on the camera was red.

What if . . . ?

She threw herself towards the camera, jerking her leg out of Naru's range at the last minute. As soon as she raised the camera to her face, the runes began to glow, one after the other: right, bottom, left, top. She waited until Naru began her next attack, facing Michiru for only a split second before beginning, and-

Michiru snapped the picture.

There was a scream, and Naru was thrown back, as if Michiru had physically struck her. After a moment, she disappeared completely.

Michiru didn't dare put the camera down now. She continued to peer through the viewfinder, her ears pricked for any unusual sound. After a moment, she relaxed. The filament on the camera was dark.

Whatever was going on, there seemed to be a few truths inside of the Himuro Mansion that didn't apply anywhere else.

1\. Senshi powers didn't work and had actually made avoiding Naru harder, with the wet floor.

2\. There had to be something supernatural going on, with the feeling that she'd gotten when Naru had grabbed her. She had no clue what it was, but her knees were still weak from the damage that she'd sustained.

3\. The camera was both her weapon and guide. When it glowed blue, it was able to show her things like hidden doors. When it glowed red, it could inflict damage on attackers.

All three of these facts combined were spelling out a possibly disastrous fate for the senshi. Michiru sighed, rolling her shoulders. Naru's attacks had taken a lot out of her, and running for so long in heels was tiring, no matter how many times she did it. While transformed, she had accelerated healing, but while untransformed, she had jeans and boots . . . She weighed the pros and cons.

"Is she gone?" Missile asked. He was peeking out from behind the kimono, his head bowed.

"It looks like it. You can stop hiding now." She smiled at him, extending her hand to show that she wasn't angry at him for not interfering. She wasn't sure what he could have done in that altercation.

"She's scary," he whimpered.

"Indeed." It looked like if she wanted to get Naru out of here, she would need to stop whatever was influencing her. "Well, Missile, unless you see anything, let's get moving, okay?" Michiru took out her camera once again, watching the filament as she and Missile walked together. So far, the filament on the camera had been a decent guide. As they passed the dresser across from the door, it suddenly lit up blue, and she looked through the viewfinder until she could see an empty mirror stand in her view, a blue circle on the lens in front of it, just like the door had been in the fireplace room. What would happen this time? Would it disappear too?

She snapped the picture, and the camera spit out the picture, making Michiru wonder. When she had taken those pictures of Naru, no film had been printed. She tried to open the film compartment, only to realize that it was welded on. Hopefully she didn't need to refill her film anytime soon. The blue circles and filament signified printed pictures then? She looked at the one that had just printed. It had a picture of an ornamental lion's mask, and she recognized it from the one in the fireplace room. The mirror stand seemed completely unaffected by the picture, however, and Michiru sighed. Perhaps something had happened to the mask in the picture. "Come on," she urged Missile, who obediently followed after a quick yip.

They exited the room with kimono and reentered the room where the tape recorder had been. Everything seemed normal in here too, so she made her way to the hallway, stopping suddenly with her hand on the doorknob as Missile started growling again.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

His fur was standing on end. "I can feel something."

Indeed, her own sixth sense was going crazy, but it had been going crazy since she had stepped into the mansion. "Where?"

"On the other side of the door."

She now faced a serious problem. She needed to leave, but if Missile was indeed telling the truth, she could be unprepared for whatever was behind the door. She readied her camera, stashing the flashlight in her bag so she could hold the camera and open the door at the same time. Missile's growling increased in volume, and Michiru pushed the door wide open, camera at the ready.

Nothing happened.

She waited another few seconds before letting out the breath she'd been holding. "I don't see anything," she said, dropping the camera and crossing the threshold.

There was a bloodcurdling scream and Michiru felt herself being tackled to the ground. Once again, the feeling of being drowned washed over her, and she cursed under her breath. A glimpse of red hair confirmed her suspicions; Naru was gathering herself for another attack, and Michiru was determined not to be in the middle of this one. Her legs weak and shaking, she crawled to the camera, managing to turn and snap a picture just in time. Once again, Naru recoiled, but this time, after a moment, she recovered, going in for another attack.

This was new. Still, Michiru didn't have time to think it through. She took another picture, and this time, Naru jerked back and disappeared like she had before. Two shots. The camera wasn't omnipotent against these things, it seemed, which meant that Michiru would have to be careful. For the moment, however, she dragged herself to the wall, resting. Missile, who she had forgotten about again in the resulting confusion, stepped onto her lap, wiggling his head under her hand and whining. "I know, you told me so," she murmured without malice. The poor dog seemed to be more shaken up than she was.

She took a moment to center herself before ushering Missile from her lap and standing. Her knees shook, but she tried her best to hide it. Without her senshi healing, she was sure she would have been dead at this point. She was impressed with Naru for making it as far as she had. Unfortunately, she hadn't found the others, and now that she was this far, she couldn't turn back without them. She had the camera, which meant she could fight, which was more than she could say for the others.

"Are you okay?" Missile asked, nudging her leg with his cold nose.

She mustered up a smile for the dog. "Of course. Do I not look like it?"

He blinked several times, and suddenly, he reminded her of Haruka whenever she asked a loaded question. She chuckled and walked down the hallway. "I'm fine, Missile. Nothing a bit of sleep won't fix." She pulled out the photo she'd stashed in her bag. "Remember where this is?" she asked, in hopes of distracting him.

"I got it, I got it!" He bounded off down the hall, his tail wagging, and Michiru followed. They entered the fireplace room together, and while Michiru did a quick scan of the room, Missile bounded straight for the lion mask on top of the dresser. "I found it!"

Well, nothing had come out and attacked him, but then again, Naru hadn't been overly interested in him either. She paused another moment in caution before walking over to him. "You did." Indeed, there was the lion mask, and just under it was something red that she could have sworn wasn't there before. She hooked her fingers under the mask, picking it up with difficulty (it was stone, she could now testify to that) before setting it down on a nearby dresser. Where the mask had once sat was a red hand-mirror, one that looked like it would fit perfectly in the stand from earlier.

"I think I know where this goes," she told Missile, and he yipped happily, following her as she walked back to the hallway. She turned the corner, and suddenly, Missile was growling again and her breath was stuck in her throat. The closet door in the hallway, which she'd contemplated breaking down with one of her attacks, was open, Naru's top half on the shelf. Her legs were nowhere to be found. Frozen in stunned silence, Michiru stared, knowing that she should take out the camera but her body wasn't cooperating. Naru was still. After a moment, she vanished, and the closet door slowly closed.

Michiru walked forward, her body carrying her almost subconsciously towards the closet door. She wanted to squeeze her eyes shut, but she kept them open as she slowly reopened the closet door.

There was nothing there.

She wasn't about to fall for that again. Dropping the mirror into her bag, she took out the camera, but the filament was dark. She glanced around, and Missile brushed against her leg. "I don't feel anything," he said.

Other than the normal prickling of her sixth sense, neither did she. After one more minute of caution, she dropped her defenses. "I guess that works," she murmured. After a moment, she remembered what she had come here for. "The hand-mirror. Right," she said, heading for the door from earlier. It was interesting that the first obstacle she had found had a mirror puzzle, since her talisman was the Deep Aqua Mirror. It was quite the coincidence, if it was indeed coincidence.

The warbling sound was as strong as ever as she entered the room with the folding screens. She ignored it, walking over to the mirror stand. She fished in her bag for the red hand-mirror, wondering what would happen if she put her own talisman in the hole before deciding that it wouldn't fit anyways, and placed the item on the stand. As soon as it was settled, something clicked, and a drawer of the dresser shot open, barely missing her abdomen. Inside was a picture and a bronze key.

The key!

Michiru reached for it automatically, but froze when Missile began to growl again. "We've got company!" he said, and Michiru was already turning, the camera in her hands. Naru moved towards her quickly, but this time, she was ready. The runes lit up, and she took the picture, satisfied when Naru recoiled, not so satisfied when she disappeared only to reappear a few feet away. It seemed as though she could teleport, although why she was just now using this power, Michiru wasn't sure. Still, she couldn't let it get to her. Calmly, she centered the view on Naru again, and waited for the runes to charge up, taking another picture when they had.

Naru fell backwards again and disappeared, but Missile was still growling. After a moment, when she hadn't reappeared again, Michiru looked around. The tiny glimpse of red in the corner of her vision made her gasp and do a full 180, Naru's hand coming inches from her face as she dodged. Naru wasn't about to let that deter her, however. She took a few more swipes at the senshi, Michiru staying just out of her grasp.

Michiru raised the camera, but it was no use. Snapping a picture in the split second between Naru's attacks seemed to make little to no difference, since the runes weren't able to charge.

And then Naru grabbed her.

Immediately, Michiru's knees gave out. Senshi healing was fast, but not that fast, and Naru had done some serious damage already. She sprawled on the floor, trying to raise her limbs, but her hands shook as she tried to get an even shot. Her vision was fading, and her heartbeat was loud in her ears. Slowly, the feeling in her body started to drain away, and Naru's face hovered above hers, the girl's face frozen in a scream. Her eyelids became heavy, and she fought to keep them open.

It was over. God, this was going to kill Haruka. She'd blame herself for not going with Michiru, and then she'd get depressed, leading Usagi to become more worried . . .

And then Naru's face disappeared.

Her vision was dim already, but she knew she had been able to see Naru's face before. Now she was staring up at the wood-paneled ceiling, which was slowly getting clearer. After a moment, she realized that Missile was barking, and she could feel his fur next to her foot. With effort, she raised her head, her vision focusing just enough for her to realize that somehow he was repelling the spirit back.

The dog sucked in a breath, and Naru lunged in, getting within inches of him before he started again.

She couldn't let Missile take this on. Her fingers closed around the camera again, and she raised it, her arms trembling with the effort. The runes began to charge, and finally, after what felt like forever, all four were lit up. Michiru took the shot, and Naru flinched back before vanishing completely.

The sound of panting was the only thing in the room for a full minute, both on Michiru and Missile's parts. Missile had curled up against her side as soon as the danger had passed, whimpering, and it was taking most of her strength to stroke his head in reassurance. "Can you make sure nothing comes in for a few minutes?" she asked him, and he gave a small bark in affirmation, remaining snuggled up against her.

There was no way she could continue on. Whatever was here was far too much for her to handle alone, especially without her senshi powers to rely on. As soon as she felt strength returning to her limbs, she raised her wrist, opening the cover to her senshi communicator. Again, it automatically dialed Uranus, and after a moment, Haruka spoke. "_Michi?_"

Her voice was strained, and Michiru went cold. "What's wrong?"

"_We may have gotten a little lost after Usagi drove us off a cliff. . . And the little princess may have sprained her ankle. . ._"

"You did what?" The retort came out sharper than she had intended in her fatigue, but Haruka didn't seem to notice.

"_Yeah. She crashed the car, and there was no cell service, so we decided to walk towards town, but she twisted her ankle, so we haven't really been able to get far._"

"Dammit, Haruka, I asked you to keep her distracted for one day!"

"_I know! This wasn't supposed to happen, I just . . . Hold on, where did she just hobble off to on her own?_"

"Just find her and get someplace safe." It wouldn't do any good for them to get angry at one another, even though Michiru felt stressed and tired and was at the end of her rope. "I'm coming back, so once I manage to get out of here, I'll head your way." Luckily, the senshi communicators had location services, so she wouldn't have to try to find her based on Uranus's energy.

Haruka gave a long sigh. "_You sound tired yourself._"

"There's something going on here that I don't understand, but I don't know that I can take it on alone. Our senshi powers don't work against it."

"_Are you hurt?_"

"No," Michiru lied. "Just tired from all of the running. I have one more thing that I need to see about, and then I'll head your way." Internally, Michiru despaired at the idea of trudging back through the Himuro Mansion, let alone all the way back to the car, but she couldn't stay here on the floor forever. "Let me know when you find the princess."

"_Will do. Stay safe._"

"You too." Michiru closed the cover on her communicator, closing her eyes for another few minutes. She just wanted to sleep on the floor forever. Her whole body ached from the confrontations she'd had with Naru. Finally, she roused herself from the floor, Missile standing with her. She walked over to the drawer, picking up the bronze key before looking at the photo.

Naru was posed with the traditional peace sign, but there seemed to be a rope wrapped around her neck, one end coming from the ceiling. Michiru shuddered. She pocketed the photo as proof to show Haruka later and then turned towards the door. "Just one more thing to do, and then we'll get out of here, okay?" she said to Missile.

The dog whimpered. "Are you sure you're feeling okay?"

"It won't take long. But I wouldn't feel right just leaving my friend here." Now that she had the key to the door Motoki had gone through, she had to at least try to look for him. With a deep breath, she walked through the hallway, Missile at her heels.

She made it back to the fireplace room without trouble, and had just started up the stairs when the ground shook. Michiru had been a native of Tokyo her entire life, so earthquakes weren't generally the worst thing in the world, but with the questionable stability of the Himuro Mansion, it was hardly safe. She glanced around. There were no tables or anything heavy to hide under, so she picked up Missile and ran towards the interior wall, curling around the dog. "What's happening?" he asked, burrowing his head into her neck.

"Just an earthquake. Don't panic," she said, her voice cracking as the sound of wood splintering cut through the air.

The quake lasted a few minutes, and Michiru stayed curled up for a few more afterwards. Luckily, almost nothing had been disturbed other than some of the books being thrown from the bookshelf across the room (that lion mask hadn't budged at all, unsurprising after how heavy it had been). That being said, she thought of the entrance and her heartbeat quickened. It had been in bad shape before. If she was going to get out, she needed to go _now_. Keeping her hold on Missile despite the dog's squirming, she walked out of the room, her flashlight out again as she tried to avoid the debris that had fallen in the Rope Hallway. Finally, she got to the foyer, and her heart sank fully.

The front steps had completely collapsed, and one of the support beams had fallen across the entrance.

She was stuck in the Himuro Mansion.

"Guess we've got no choice now but to keep going, hm?" she asked Missile, setting him down finally as she looked at her former escape route.

* * *

**A/N ::**

**Melody Canta ::**

**Got enough questions yet?**

**This chapter took a lot longer to write, but hey, it's ridiculously long for my standards, and it has Missile! For those of you who are new to our fanfics, Missile is from Ghost Trick, and he kind of makes an appearance just about everywhere.**

**My apologies for the Japanese title, but it makes more sense in Japanese than it does in English, and when I was trying to figure out what to name this chapter, it was all that was coming to mind.**

**This chapter was hell to write, just saying. Hopefully the rest of these get better.**

**If you read the first chapter when it was posted, you're probably wondering about Unazuki! Unfortunately, for clarity's sake, she's been cut, so I'm fixing the prologue now to cut her out. **

**Japanese Notes:**

**Etai no chinai (得体の知ない****) :: This was the original name for the chapter. Literally translated, it means something like, "no knowledge of the true character". Weblio cites a synonym as "mysterious," but it's really just an unknown. Himuro Mansion is definitely an unknown entity, which is why this chapter title really stuck out to me.**

**Henshin (変身****) :: Metamorphosis/transformation. The wands used for transformation are called Henshin wands, I believe.**

**Shikola Krasno ::**

**Oy vey, right?**

**Going to have to admit: my knowledge of all things Sailor Moon pales in comparison to Melody's, which may make for some interesting differences between our stories.**

**On a fun note, some of this chapter was influenced by our actual playthrough of Fatal Frame! When Missile sensed something on the other side of the door when Michi had to head out of the room, I immediately recognized the moment from the game! Unlike Calling where we each took turns playing and following a guide (not an easy game to get through without help), we had a much simpler way to go about Fatal Frame that emerged from that part of the game. What had happened was that, while leaving a room, a ghost appeared behind the character when Melody was playing. Instead of continuing to leave the room, she turned around and got effectively man-handled by the guy, walking through him repeatedly until she died. Thanks to that and a lovely display of my lack of directional knowledge (I could NOT navigate those games to save my life), Melody was put in charge of navigation and I was in charge of fighting ghosts. It worked, but not as effectively as I would have liked (I'll save those stories for later).**

**Back on track. . . Missile! He's really becoming our go-to helper. Whenever we're worried about characters talking to themselves for too long, we have a tendency to throw Missile into the picture. Simply put: Missile solves all our problems simply because he is Missile. There's really no more sense to make of him. If you're curious as to just how adorable he is, look up Ghost Trick Missile and you'll see part of why we love him so much. Unfortunately for me, because Missile will be with Michi, I won't have him with Ruka. I've already come up with a solution for this, though, so you'll just have to sit tight and wait for that one (and yes, she will have Usagi around sometimes. Usagi's going to wander off often, though).  
**

**Ummm, as for Himuro Mansion, there's a lot going on, no? If anybody needs a refresher (like I certainly did): Umino is swirly glasses and Naru is Usagi's old school friend. I hope that it's not too difficult to keep up with this one. Please ask any questions you feel the need to! The Sailor Master (Melody) will be more than willing to clarify, and I can always attempt at what I know.  
**


	3. The Strangling Ritual

**Chapter Three :: The Strangling Ritual**

With the exit now blocked off, Michiru had no way out, leaving her with only one option. Though the Himuro Mansion was dangerous, she would have to look for a way out while looking for the others. If she could find an ally other than Missile, there was a chance that they could find a way out together.

She only had one clue for where to go first.

She took the bronze key out of her bag, backtracking to the fireplace room. "Where does that go?" Missile asked as they walked up the stairs.

Michiru winked at the dog. "Just wait." She hadn't missed that he was walking just a few steps in front of her now, as if to try to protect her from anything that would jump out. It was ridiculously cute, and if she hadn't been concerned about surviving, she might have thought about a way to reward him. As it was, he was the only thing that had kept her alive just ten minutes ago, so she was more than happy to let him take the lead. Besides, he had a better sixth sense than she did. With all of the alarms that were going off in her brain, identifying which were the important ones was difficult.

She found the door with the padlock and inserted the key. It gave no resistance and the lock dropped onto the floor. Missile was silent, so she opened the door. On the other side was a room with more tatami mats, a giant table sitting in the middle, and a few different doors to choose from. On the table was a piece of paper, with typed writing.

* * *

_The secret rituals of the Himuro family are numerous, and most of them have been lost. They have been handed down by oral tradition, with the occasional document being written later, detailing these rituals as legends._

_But, perhaps these aren't legends. If we take them as real, one must wonder why the legends behind the rituals are dying out._

_Hardly any of these oral descriptions remain, since the Himuro family members are all dead. Those close to the family must have kept quiet about the rituals as well, protecting them from being spread._

_One ritual in particular is shrouded in mystery. People who lived near the mansion refused to leave their homes on the day of the ritual._

_I can only assume it is due to its cruel nature, but without more evidence, the truth remains unknown._

* * *

The document was interesting, but vague and unhelpful. Still, where had it come from? Could it have been that book by one of the Shitennou?

"Where to now?" Missile asked, bouncing around.

Oddly enough, there were footprints coming from the door she had just entered from to the right, so she chose to follow them. The door lead into a small anteroom, a few dressers with old-fashioned dolls sitting on the top. Michiru swallowed. Great, creepy dolls. As if the current vibe wasn't enough.

Nothing seemed out of place up here. Despite the earthquake, the room seemed to be unaffected. In addition, the dressers were dusty, but the dolls themselves were not.

Missile yipped, bringing Michiru out of her reverie. "I found stuff!" he announced, wagging his tail. He was standing on his hind legs in front of the dresser with the dolls. Between them was a small red cassette tape, much like the white one they'd found earlier. She walked over to it, taking the tape recorder from her bag, ejecting the white tape and inserting in the new one. This was Naru's voice that came from the tape, and Michiru suppressed a grin at how irritated she sounded.

_"We found some old photographs inside of a chest that had a ton of dust on it. Now there's dust everywhere."_ There was a sigh. _"Right, right, the picture. It was of some kids playing tag. Gurio thinks it must be the family that the old Himuro family master killed. We have no proof of that though. In the corner of the picture however, there's a little girl in a white kimono. She's got a lot of hair, but you can see her eyes are staring right at the camera, and she's pointing towards us. It's almost like she's accusing us of something. She must have been really angry at whoever the photographer was, I guess."_

Well, that had been useful. Not. Judging by Naru's attitude towards it, she hadn't found it so either. "Happen to have seen anyone in a white kimono?" Michiru asked Missile ironically.

The dog blinked. "No. I'll start looking for one though!"

"No, no, that's okay!" she said, grabbing onto him before he could actually leave. "We'll look for one together later, okay?"

"Okay!"

So, sarcasm was lost on the dog. Well, she supposed she couldn't have everything. He was already her protector.

The rest of the room was uninteresting, save for a small door that was locked on the far side. She went back to the room with the tatami mats, giving it a thorough once-over before moving out to a small hallway. There were two doors at the end of the hall. Michiru started by going to the one on the left, which led into a larger hallway, and then suddenly, Missile was barking again.

At the end of the hallway was Naru.

Michiru took a picture before the girl could even glance her way. The filament, however, was still blue, and the picture that she'd taken didn't seem to do any damage. However, Naru disappeared, but a blue flame was hovering in her place. Michiru took out her mirror, shining it at the flame. Naru's face was reflected in it. "_There are rope marks on me now_," she whimpered, and then the blue flame disappeared.

Michiru put away the mirror, thinking back to the photo she'd found with the key. Was that what Naru was talking about? What had been going on there?

Missile pawed at her leg, a piece of paper in his mouth. She sighed. Despite his enthusiasm, dog slobber was not appreciated on the pages she was going to stuff in her bag. Once again, the handwriting on it matched the handwriting she'd seen in the red notebook earlier.

* * *

_The more I find out about the Himuro Mansion, the less I want to go in there. It's just creepy! I don't see why Gurio is so obsessed with having it as the setting for his book. _

_But what kind of girlfriend would I be if I let him go alone?  
_

_I mean, I just want to support him. I don't want to give him the idea that I don't care, because I do. And I don't want him to go alone, because that's not safe, especially not with the disappearances lately. As long as we're together, it doesn't matter what happens to us, right? _

_I'm going to be there for him because I love him. And if that means that we have to enter the Himuro Mansion, well . . . I'll do it._

* * *

There was something heartbreaking about Naru's outlook on the entire thing. Perhaps it was the fact that Naru could have gotten killed over simply supporting the one she loved. Or perhaps it was the fact that Michiru knew that she would have done the exact same thing for Haruka if asked.

Luckily, Haruka was smart enough to know not to enter a haunted mansion during a period of constant disappearances.

She stuffed the paper back into her bag, and with a nod at Missile, they walked down the hallway. There were descending stairs, and they took those into another hallway. As soon as they'd reached the bottom, Missile started growling, and the filament on the camera was red. There was something nearby, she could tell, but it seemed to be hidden from the eye. She held up the camera and there was a moment where she could see a body through the viewfinder, so she took the picture as soon as the runes charged. The body, which was a man with very long arms, turned completely white, writhing before it disappeared.

She hadn't recognized him, which was worth noting. Whatever was causing this was not relegated to merely the Azabu-Juuban group, but there seemed to be others involved as well.

"Thank you for the warning," she said to Missile sincerely. "I wish I had some sort of treat to give you."

"Treat?" He cocked his head at her. "Food?"

She shook her head. "I didn't bring anything to eat, actually. Hopefully we're not stuck here for too long." Even if she found food in the mansion, it probably wouldn't be edible. Water would be important too, although luckily she could summon some. "Are you thirsty?"

"You have water?" Missile to perk up at that.

With a lot of focus, Michiru managed to summon up a Deep Submerge that didn't destroy anything, but rather, left a puddle on the floor for the dog to lap up. "We should look at finding you a bowl," she murmured, realizing that she would need a cup of some sort in order to drink anything.

"This is okay!" he reassured her, pushing his wet nose against her leg.

She wrinkled her nose at the cold feeling, shifting away from it. "Let's keep going then."

They walked down the hallway until Missile bounded forward again, shoving his nose into a small crevice in the wall. "There's something in here," he whimpered, pushing his head in until Michiru was afraid he was going to get stuck. She pulled him away, picking up the piece of paper that had to have been just out of his reach. It was old, the edges torn and the paper itself yellowed. It seemed to be an old news article.

* * *

_Myth Becoming True?_

_The Himuro Mansion is the source of a lot of folklore, but nothing has happened for years._

_Or at least, nothing had happened for years until Sunday night, when a young woman disappeared. Sources say that she was heading to the mansion for research for a school project when she failed to return home. She traveled alone. Search parties have been formed to find her. If you have any information, please contact the local authorities._

* * *

More strange things about the mansion. Michiru added it to her bag and continued down the hallway, entering the first room she saw. This one was large, with old partitions and double doors dividing the sections. Missile bounded off while Michiru grabbed the piece of paper near the door. This one had more of Naru's handwriting.

* * *

_I saw Makoto._

_She was wearing a white kimono, and she had ropes around her hands and feet. She sort of shuffled around when she walked, so I'm afraid that she must be hurt. Her hair was down, and in her eyes, but I know it was her! I called out to her, and tried to run over to her, but she didn't even notice me, and she disappeared into thin air when I got close._

_Umino says that I must be seeing things. Maybe it's just my imagination, or my nerves, but I can't imagine that I'd see Makoto like that. Makoto's strong. She'd be protecting us in here, I know it. So why I would imagine her being hurt is . . . unthinkable._

_There's something very wrong about this mansion._

* * *

Makoto, hurt? That was not something that sat well with Michiru, although she had to take into account that there was something weird going on with Makoto anyways. After all, if the weird visions she'd seen when she picked up the tape recorder were true, Makoto had done something to Naru.

"See anything else?" she asked Missile, who was bounding back across the room.

He shook his head.

They exited back the way they'd come, walking back into the hallway and continuing down it until they reached another door. There was a cloth partition blocking their view of the rest of the room, but Missile was growling as soon as they entered, running around the partition. She followed, watching Naru walk through a door at the other side of the room.

The door hadn't opened, which made Michiru wonder if Motoki had entered that locked door back in the fireplace room in the same way. On one hand, having an explanation for it was a relief. On the other, the explanation wasn't completely logical, so there were still things beyond her comprehension here.

Inside the room there was a long table set up with candles, much like a ceremonial burial room might have looked. There was a piece of paper on the corner nearest her, and again, she recognized Naru's handwriting.

* * *

_I saw Makoto again._

_I'm not imagining her._

_I see her. I've been seeing her everywhere now._

_On the other side of the mirror, in my reflection, down the hall, at the top of the stairs; everywhere. I keep calling her name, but she's still not responding. I don't know what to do. Umino doesn't seem to be able to see her._

_I'm scared. I just want to get out of here._

* * *

Naru seemed to be going insane. Why had she seen Makoto? What role did Makoto Kino play in all of this?

Michiru might have stood there longer, if she hadn't heard a very distinct thump and Missile whine. "What happened?" she asked the dog, who was now curling up towards her feet. She bent down to scratch him between the ears, noticing the slightly singed part of his fur as she did. "What did you do?"

"I went to the door," he whimpered. "And then it hurt."

Michiru stepped over him to examine the door. On the front of it was a paper charm, meant for warding off spirits, much like the ones at the Hikawa Shrine. She reached out to tug it off, and immediately felt pain spread to her fingers, her glove suddenly stained with ash as if there was an invisible fire there. "What the—?"

Since the camera was her best and only tool at dealing with things like this, she took it out, unsurprised when the filament glowed blue. The picture she snapped was of someplace completely unfamiliar. "Looks like we have more exploring to do," she said before looking back at Missile. "Are you going to be okay?"

He whimpered, putting his paws over his eyes. "It hurt."

Her heart broke a little. She picked him up, pressing a kiss to the top of his head, just like she would have had Hotaru had an injury. The texture of dog fur on her lips made her regret doing it, but he yipped happily, so she figured it was worth it.

There was a scroll further down on the table, so she set Missile down and walked over to it. The handwriting on it was horrible, but after a moment, she read what she thought it said aloud.

_"On the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, a maiden, cut off from the outside world, shall be torn apart to provide power to the rope."_

"What?" Missile asked.

Michiru shivered, picking up the dog once again for reassurance. He pressed his nose to her cheek, his tail wagging at the contact. Makoto had disappeared two weeks ago . . . on December 9th. That meant that her and everyone else who had disappeared before her was eligible.

Under the scroll was another typed piece of paper.

* * *

_Among the few documents I've managed to find about the rituals of the Himuro family, the one that stands out the most is of the Rope Shrine Maiden. Her arms, legs, and neck are bound by five ropes. However, no documents detail her actual role in the ritual._

_One possible theory is that she is a sacrificial lamb, although to what is unknown. It's also hard to believe that such a cruel ritual was practiced once._

* * *

Rope Shrine Maiden. Was that what the scroll was talking about?

Why would anyone be doing anything like that to begin with?

Missile yipped once, and Michiru looked up, stashing the documents in her bag. "I found another door!" he said proudly. She opened the door for him and, as usual, he went trotting in first. Within seconds, he was bounding back over to her with papers in his mouth.

"Missile, perhaps you should let me pick them up," she finally suggested, trying to separate the two papers, a string of drool hanging between them.

The handwriting on the papers was definitely Umino's, although it was more rushed and jagged than the previous note.

* * *

_We found a dead body._

_His head, hands, and feet had been ripped off. And I do mean ripped OFF. Like, they were lying by the rest of his body. There was a picture too, of him with the ropes on his neck, wrists, and ankles. _

_This sounds just like they used to do way back when those rumors started, but there's no way that's happening now. I mean, that was hundreds of years ago. There's no way._

* * *

_Naru's acting strange. She keeps mumbling to herself about ropes and mirrors. I don't know why this all has gotten to her (not that I can blame her after what we saw yesterday), but it's gotten to her really bad and we need to get out of here. I'm worried about her._

_To be honest, I'm worried about both of us. I went back to the dead body, and it was gone. There was no evidence it had ever been there at all._

* * *

The wind had been taken out of Umino's sails, and for good reason. Michiru shoved the bundle into her bag, walking around the room to see if there was anything out of Missile's reach. There wasn't much; the room looked like a bomb had hit with all of the concrete on the ground. At the back of the room was the Himuro family crest (with the kanji for Himuro engraved on it), and it somehow kept a door shut. After a few tries to get it open, she sighed, going back into the burial room.

There were two doors she couldn't open, one with the Himuro family crest, and the other with the photograph that showed who-knows-where. There was more of the hallway she hadn't investigated, so she hoped to find a hint there. "Ready to go?" she asked Missile.

He hopped up on his hind legs and scratched at the door to the hallway, which she took as an affirmative.

Missile led them down the hall and around the corner, where they found a door with another Himuro Family Crest. This one had buttons on it, with the kanji for 0-9 etched on them. Michiru pressed a couple of the buttons, but outside of a grinding noise, nothing happened.

Missile, in all of his excitement, pawed against this door too, and the movement made something flash, the beam of her flashlight hitting the wood just right. Someone had scratched words into the door.

"the Shinto ritual"

"strangling"

"held on the day of"

There was something that felt familiar, and she rustled through her bag until she found the scroll from the burial room.

_"On the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, a maiden, cut off from the outside world, shall be torn apart to provide power to the rope."_

Michiru gulped and pushed "1312" into the makeshift keypad. There was a click, and the door opened automatically.

There was an immediate cacophony of sound, between Missile growling, high-pitched giggles, and the sound of something shifting. Her hand immediately darted into her bag for the camera, and she had it halfway to her face before realizing that right in front of her was Makoto in her Sailor Jupiter outfit. One hand was outstretched, pointing to something on her right, but Michiru could have cared less. "Makoto!" she shouted.

"This way," Makoto whispered, and Michiru grabbed for her, but the Jupiter senshi vanished into thin air, leaving her to grasp at nothing. What did this mean? Had she come too late? Was Makoto dead now?

Her knees felt weak, and she crumpled to the ground. Missile started barking, running up in front of her, but stopped when he realized nothing was attacking her. Instead he nuzzled her leg.

Naru had seen Makoto in a white kimono. She dug the note from her bag, rereading what Naru had said.

_"She was wearing a white kimono, and she had ropes around her hands and feet. She sort of shuffled around when she walked, so I'm afraid that she must be hurt. Her hair was down, and in her eyes, but I know it was her! I called out to her, and tried to run over to her, but she didn't even notice me, and she disappeared into thin air when I got close."_

That wasn't anything close to the description that Michiru had just seen; there were no ropes and Makoto didn't move. She'd spoken to Michiru though, which meant that she still had some semblance of herself, or at least more than Naru had before she'd started attacking. Besides, Makoto hadn't attacked, which Michiru thanked her lucky stars for, because if Naru's attacks had hurt, she could only imagine Makoto's being brutal.

But Makoto was there and seemed to be okay, which was a good sign.

But what had she meant? What was "this way"?

Gingerly, Michiru got to her feet, shuffling around the corner to fine a place that matched the picture of the seal perfectly. There was no question about it; Makoto was on her side, and this was something that made her feel a lot better.

Missile, picking up on the change in her mood, bounded off to investigate the room while Michiru took the picture. Then she took a deep breath and started looking around as well. There was a set of stairs that led up to a few dressers, all of which seemed to have clothing in them. At the bottom of the stairs was a maze of desks and dressers, as well as a set of samurai armor that Haruka would have loved had it not been in a haunted mansion.

She and Missile reunited at the door. "Find anything?" she asked her canine companion.

He dropped a page at her feet. It matched the book excerpts she'd been finding.

* * *

_Chapter Four: The Disaster Called the Calamity_

_Long ago, a great tragedy struck this region. One legend calls this event "The Calamity," but reveals no information about what actually happened. Another gives a brief overview, but goes into no detail._

_The brief description is as follows: The mirrors, each kept in one of the five shrines, broke. The dead returned from hell._

_Since it's unlikely the passage is literal, there are theories regarding what kind of disaster is being described._

* * *

Michiru wasn't so sure about the last statement.

She scratched Missile behind his ear before exiting the samurai armor room and heading straight for the burial room. The paper charm should have theoretically been gone now, and indeed it was, the only remnant a tiny bit of ash on the floor and a scorch mark on the door.

She opened the door, stepping out into a covered patio and a lovely atrium. The cool winter wind swept through her hair, making her shiver, but there was no question about it; she could see the moon. She was outside, and she'd been in the Himuro Mansion for long enough that it had turned to night.

Michiru did the math in her head. She'd left the house around ten in the morning, arriving at the mansion close to noon. It hadn't been that long before the earthquake had hit, maybe a couple hours, so that was two in the afternoon, and she'd stayed stationary after the earthquake for probably longer than she'd needed to. Add onto avoiding the mild damage of the house and the fact that she hadn't had to run from any enemies in a while, and it had to be close to five, maybe even six. The sun should have set, yes, but there was no way that the moon could be out this early, could there?

It seemed larger than normal too. But, she was protected by the moon just as she protected it. Perhaps the moonlight would give her some strength.

There was a large cherry tree in the center of the atrium. At the base of the tree was a tiny, unmarked grave, and on the other side was a small building that didn't seem to be connected to the mansion. She took a few steps forward and froze.

Trailing from the burial room was a thin path of blood, and as her eyes traveled further, she could see spatter that gradually increased in volume.

Missile whimpered next to her.

She steeled herself before walking along the trail. She came to a door, which was locked, and the camera filament turned blue, so she took a picture. The picture showed a waterwheel, which Michiru had no idea where she was going to find. With a sigh, she continued along the patio. Missile's growling had her taking out the camera again, but it was just Naru. She was walking the same direction Michiru had been, then she suddenly faded, leaving behind another flame.

Michiru's mirror revealed Naru's face as she spoke. "_What are you trying to say?_" Naru asked. She sounded so lost, that for a moment, Michiru forgot that the girl had recently attacked her. Naru hadn't really deserved any of this. She'd been in the wrong place at the wrong time, and it cost her dearly.

"There's another door!" Missile's patience, like normal, had run out and he was now barking at a door that had a paper charm on it (at least this time he hadn't tried to run into it). The picture Michiru took revealed two shelves full of beautiful wooden Japanese dolls, all of them wearing the same red kimono. She stared at the picture before stashing it in her bag, Missile already running up to her with something else in his mouth. It was a piece of notebook paper, and the handwriting was Umino's.

* * *

_Naru's getting worse. She doesn't stop shaking, not even when I hug her or tell her that everything is going to be okay. She just keeps mumbling the same words over and over again, though they're too quiet for me to hear. At this point, there's no doubt that something supernatural and sinister is happening here. I'm over my head._

_I'm in so far over my head, and Naru's paying for it._

_She's in such bad shape that she can't even move. I've left her in one of the rooms lined with tatami mats so she can lay down while I look for a way out. I wish someone would come look for us, but I can't imagine they will. This is the Himuro Mansion, after all. Only idiots come here looking for ghost stories._

* * *

Michiru felt bad for not coming earlier than she had. Naru and Umino had stepped into something that not even a senshi could handle, let alone a couple of humans led forward by their insane desires.

Missile was waiting for her at the edge of the patio, so she followed him down the path to the small shrine. It was sealed with another one of the Himuro family crests, and she groaned in irritation. Was _everything_ going to be locked out here?

The giant cherry tree didn't seem to hold anything interesting, and the grave was unmarked. Michiru was about to give up when Missile started growling at something behind her. Her hand flew to the camera, but once again, it was just Naru, this time walking to a small door that Michiru hadn't even noticed was there, tucked behind the shrine. As soon as Naru had disappeared, she all but ran towards it. The door opened easily, although the wood around the edges was rotting a little bit from moisture coming from somewhere.

As soon as she stepped through the door, she realized where the moisture was from. The humidity was through the roof; she could feel her hair frizzing in seconds.

It was hard to call this a room; there were little stone lanterns in the middle, like a small shrine, and a bridge that extended out over a very dark river that seemed so vast that she couldn't figure out where it began and where it ended. To her right, however, was a waterwheel, and she bet, from the right angle, it would match the picture.

It took her a while to line everything up, but after a few minutes, she found the blue circle and took the picture. As soon as she did, a barrage of images hit her mind, much like they had when she'd found the tape recorder.

Naru was sprawled across the ground, looking up in horror at a woman in a white kimono. It was obviously Makoto, but it wasn't the same Makoto Michiru had seen earlier in the samurai armor room! This Makoto chuckled darkly, her head still down. Naru whimpered, trying to scramble away, before suddenly clutching at her neck, writhing around. Rope marks appeared on her wrists as she struggled. After a long minute, she went limp, and ghostly hands from behind Makoto grabbed at the young girl. A gasp made Michiru turn, and she could see Umino, his glasses heavily stained, staring at the image of Makoto killing his girlfriend. Naru dropped to the ground, Makoto's victim forgotten, as she too focused on Umino.

"Run," Michiru whispered under her breath, watching the senshi close in on the writer, and then—

Missile barked, bringing her out of the trance. What had she just seen? How could Makoto be killing people? Killing Naru, of all people? Were her eyes fooling her? Her senses? And what about the ghostly hands? If Makoto wanted to kill someone, her senshi powers would be more than enough. Why go to that extent?

And the ropes?

Missile barked again.

"Sorry," Michiru apologized, turning to the dog. "What's wrong?"

"There's something weird!" He was pawing at one of the lanterns. It wasn't lit, which was strange in comparison to the other four, which were. The filament was blue, so Michiru snapped a picture of it. In the picture, the lantern was lit.

"Well, I don't have anything to light it with," she murmured. She was the senshi of the sea, not fire. She would have killed to have Rei by her side at that moment. Hell, she would have killed to have Haruka back at her side, but if both of them had been caught in the mansion . . . Michiru shivered at the thought.

Speaking of pictures . . . she couldn't quite remember what had happened to the one she'd snapped at the waterwheel. Hopefully she didn't need it; it had to have been in her hand at some point . . .

"That should have unlocked one of the doors, anyways," she said to Missile. "Shall we?"

He yipped, falling in step with her again.

They went back through the atrium, arriving at the first door Michiru had taken a picture of. Again, the talisman had burned into the door, and she opened it to find a rather unpleasant room with dolls.

_Dolls_.

While Missile bounded off, Michiru took a picture of the dolls, avoiding the strange hole in the floor. The middle of the room felt rather unstable under her feet. She had just snapped the picture when Missile started growling, and this time, Michiru knew she was in trouble. There was a high-pitched giggle, and she whipped around, only to find that there was a small ghost child crawling towards her. Like the man with stretched limbs, she didn't recognize the little girl.

The child lunged, and Missile ran in front of her, barking, immediately sending it sprawling backwards. This gave Michiru enough time to charge the camera before it could attack again.

Right. She and Missile were a team now, and if they could figure this out, they would have no problem!

The child whined, stomping her feet (Michiru was immediately reminded of Hotaru whenever the young girl had a temper tantrum) before charging once again. Two more shots later, and the child screamed, vanishing.

"Good teamwork," Michiru said, scratching Missile on the top of his head.

He nuzzled into her touch before trotting off, returning with a group of papers, all in Naru's handwriting.

* * *

_I can feel children playing here. I don't know how, but I can. They keep calling to me. Are they playing tag?_

_Hide-and-seek?_

_Maybe they're the children in that photo._

* * *

_Heads! Human heads!_

_Oh god, there were so many of them! They had to have been cut off by the Himuro family master, but . . . _

_They were trying to tell me something. I never should have come here._

_Makoto . . . _

* * *

Heads? Children? Perhaps Naru really was losing it . . . but Michiru _had_ just faced a child, so maybe she wasn't as off as Michiru thought.

The children in the photo had to have been the photo Naru had been talking about in her tape earlier, with the girl in the white kimono staring at the camera as if it had personally offended her.

But heads?

Michiru scrubbed at her face, feeling fatigue beginning to wash over her. Even in senshi mode, she felt tired, and this was one of the longest spans of time she'd ever spent as Sailor Neptune if you excluded the Silver Millennium.

She released her transformation, figuring she could always retransform, but without knowing how long she'd be stuck in the mansion for . . .

She needed to call Haruka. Hell, she'd needed to call Haruka _hours_ ago, back when she'd first realized she was trapped, but there had been a part of her that had figured she could go on without worrying about it. She could find her way out of the mansion, no problem, and she'd just go and find Usagi with Haruka and they would all get home fine.

Today was _not_ going her way.

The back of her eyes prickled and her throat felt tight at the idea of admitting it. She wanted to think she could get out. Hell, if she was going to get out, she _needed_ to think it. But hours later, and she was still only finding clues. Where the hell had she gone wrong?

It was also a bit alarming that Haruka hadn't contacted her . . . at all. Had she still not found Usagi? Or was she figuring that Michiru was on her way?

"That looks a lot more comfortable!"

Missile's voice startled Michiru, making her realize that she'd been staring at her wrist for a while now. She tried to muster up a smile at the dog, but it came out weak and watery. He yipped, pawing at her knees, and she obeyed the unspoken command to pick him up. With another yip, he licked at her face, squirming in his wholehearted attempts. "H-hey!" Michiru protested, trying to hold him away from her, but he pushed his way back to her, nestling his face on her chest.

"Don't be lonely," he finally said.

Immediately, Michiru felt foolish. Missile had been trapped in here before she had, and he'd been protecting her ever since the beginning (well, sort of. He'd let her take on Naru on her own the first few times). Haruka might have the princess to look after, but she had her own charge. "Of course not. I have my own _ouji-sama_ to keep me company, right?"

His face lit up immediately, his tail wagging furiously. "We'll make out of here! And then we can go say hello to everyone!"

"Of course we will." She knew Hotaru would love Missile (hell, Haruka would adore Missile; she was always bemoaning how the royal advisers were cats, not dogs), and even Setsuna would fall victim to Missile's charms. "You're completely right. We should get going then."

She set him down on his feet, and he pranced around the room a few times before returning to her side, tail wagging.

She'd just taken that picture of the dolls, so that other door should have opened, so went back into the atrium.

Missile yelped as soon as they'd exited, and it was enough for Michiru to grab at the camera, a flash of white appearing in the corner of her vision. It was a woman, she could tell by the beautiful white kimono (it definitely wasn't either of the Makotos she'd seen; this kimono had a crane motif), and she was turned away, her head slumped forward. She wasn't moving, and Missile wasn't growling, both of them staring at the ghost in confusion.

It was like something had hit the woman, but suddenly she was jerking backwards, her head hanging at an unnatural angle. There was a horrific smile on her face, the corners of her mouth spread so wide it almost looked like a grimace rather than a smile. Her pupils were dilated, and before Michiru could react, it was jetting towards her, the force driving her back against the wall. Michiru gasped as the air was knocked from her lungs, scrabbling at the wall as Missile drove the ghost away. Her head cleared quickly, although she'd need to transform later in order to regain the mobility she'd lost.

It took two shots before Broken Neck lady disappeared. Much like the child, Michiru hadn't recognized her, which was a bit concerning. How many people had fallen to the Himuro Mansion?

They paused long enough for Michiru to transform into Sailor Neptune (well, she hadn't gotten far) before Missile trotted over to the other door, the talisman burnt into the wood.

She opened the door and they walked in together. There was a large stairway to their right, and a mirror at the corner in front of them. Missile growled as a very pale Umino turned to face them and vanished in the same breath. Where he'd stood was a lighter and a piece of paper, the former's metal engraved with "G. Umino."

* * *

_Makoto._

_I saw Makoto._

_She was dressed just like the Rope Shrine Maiden in the legends. And Naru . . . the way she died . . . it was just like the legends as well. It's all matching up. I don't know why, but it seems like the rituals have started again._

_Is Makoto the new Rope Shrine Maiden?_

* * *

Umino had seen Naru die, so what she'd seen down by the waterwheel was right . . .

As soon as she looked up, Naru was walking down the hallway, again not attacking, so Michiru followed, only to be greeted with another piece of paper.

* * *

_The mirror is breaking. Something's smashed it to pieces; there are fragments all over the floor. So many people. Why are there so many people? What are they doing in the mansion? What are they running from? What are they looking for? And then at the end, when they meet their fate . . . _

_Something's coming this way I can feel it why is it coming for me please stop it's so cold please stop please stoppleasestoppleasestoppleasestop_

_idon'tknowifthisisadream_

_isthisreal?_

* * *

Naru had succumbed to insanity, it seemed, right in the middle of writing this note. But why here, if she was killed at the waterwheel? Had she managed to stumble back to it? Or had the note traveled?

Had Motoki brought it here?

"I found another door!" Missile announced.

Michiru hadn't even noticed he was gone.

There were two that he'd found as they rounded around the hallway; the first was nailed shut, but the second emptied into what looked like a badly-designed indoor sauna. Most of the room was filled with water, with wooden boards connecting the slabs of concrete. The water itself was filthy, algae breeding like bacteria on the top. Michiru shuddered. She generally found peace around water, but this could hardly be considered water and the boards didn't look the least bit safe.

Of course, Missile had to test them.

He trotted out before Michiru could stop him, wagging his tail the whole way across the first one. "What's wrong?" he asked when she stared at the obstacle.

"I'm a bit heavier than you are," she said. The last thing she wanted to do was end up drenched in questionable water and catch a parasite or something equally gross.

"It's fine!" he insisted.

Michiru tapped the board with the toe of her shoe. It seemed stable enough . . . sort of . . . not really. God, why couldn't there have been a normal floor like everywhere else in the mansion? She took a few steps before Missile started growling and she could hear Naru's distinctive, "help me," whimpers behind her.

"Really? _Now?_" she said, trying to whip around and walk backwards over the board. "You couldn't wait until I was across?" She stared at Naru through the viewfinder of the camera, only half-paying attention to it charging while the rest of her attention was dedicated to making her way across the rickety board. The camera had barely had a chance to charge before Naru dove at Michiru, much faster than she had anticipated. She snapped a picture reflexively and the scream that the Naru let out was louder. Was it possible that the close up had caused more damage?

"She's coming back!" Missile shouted, and Michiru slid her foot backwards along the board, hoping that she was going to hit the concrete divider at some point soon, but to no avail. Still wood, which meant she was still stranded in the middle. Again, Naru lunged forward, and Michiru snapped the picture as soon as it had charged. The first scream had definitely been louder.

Was there something that caused more damage when the ghosts were closer? It would require more fine-tuning, but it seemed that there was a technique to be conquered with the camera, and that alone was enough to make Michiru feel more confident. She'd perfected the violin; a magical camera that photographed spirits couldn't be that hard.

Naru was on the circuit once again, and as Michiru shuffled backwards, her foot finally hit concrete. Yes! She took a few steps backwards to gain a bit more distance, let the camera charge, and then, CLICK!

Naru's resounding scream was oddly satisfying.

A tape dropped to the ground where Naru had been hovering. Missile trotted fearlessly across the board to retrieve it for Michiru, and for once, she didn't complain, inserting the tape into the tape recorder and pressing play.

Like the others, it was Naru once again. _"Ever since we saw Makoto, the ghosts have been calling out for me. They terrorize me, shouting my name. Umino can't hear them, but I can, and I know, somehow, I've angered them. How? I'm leaving this tape. If someone listens to it . . . please, find out what happened to me!"_ The plea was clipped at the end, and Michiru knew, instinctively, that this would be the last tape. After this, Naru had to have gone out to the place with the waterwheel to meet her fate.

But why? What had Naru done that would cause such a reaction from one of the sweetest senshi? Rei, Michiru could see. But Makoto?

Michiru put the notes away and followed Missile across the other plank, holding her breath the entire time. Soon she was back on solid ground and the door was only a few steps away. It, however, had a talisman on it.

With a sigh, she rested her back against the door, trying to figure out where to go from there. She rifled through the photos in her bag before finally finding the one of the lantern.

The lighter.

"Come on, Missile!" she shouted, running back towards the other door, her fear all but forgotten. The boards creaked under her weight as she ran over them, but held, proving their strength. Missile yipped as he ran after her, excited by her change of mood. They passed through the room with the staircase, leading back into the atrium and across the courtyard to go back to the waterwheel. The lantern was still unlit, and after a bit of fumbling around with Umino's lighter, she finally managed to make the tiny wick inside light.

When they went back to the neglected sauna, the talisman had been burned into the door, and Michiru felt proud of herself for figuring that out so quickly.

She opened the door, revealing a backyard area. There was a covered shrine, a well, and even a little bamboo grove. As she crept closer, she realized that there were graves along the grove, names carved into them. She leaned closer, squinting to read them, but Missile's growling had her snapping up, her hand already on the camera.

Umino was walking slowly towards the opposite end of the backyard from where she'd come, just passing the well before he disappeared.

She approached where Umino had been. Sure enough, there was another tape.

Umino's squeaky voice came through the speakers, startling Michiru, as she'd expected Naru. _"Something's happening! I saw it with my own eyes, and I know how dumb this sounds, because obviously I came here to find ghosts, but I don't think I'm ready to face this. Have we somehow awakened something? Some protective spirit? WE MEAN NO HARM!"_ The tape cut off, and Michiru sighed. Shouting at the ghosts didn't seem like an effective strategy either, but Umino had tried, and obviously he hadn't ended up any better off than Naru.

There was a blue wisp not too far from where he'd vanished, and Michiru pulled out her mirror to see his face reflected. "_I have to hurry_," he said, sounding nervous. "_I'm already beginning to show rope marks! Naru!_"

The wisp vanished, leaving the eerie message fresh on Michiru's mind.

There was a door behind the bamboo grove, and she walked towards it, but a noise made her stop in her tracks, Missile starting to growl immediately after. There was a weird high-pitched sound coming from above them, she could hear it, but the actual location was unclear. She took a few steps back, looking around. Missile seemed confused as well, his little body whipping around.

The noise got louder.

Michiru took a few more steps back. It was dark out, and not quite knowing what she was looking for made her nervous. A few more steps and she saw it, a rippling where there shouldn't have been one. It was like there was something in the foreground that should have been in the background, and she put the camera up, aiming at it.

The camera began to charge.

She took the first shot without a problem, and Naru revealed herself. The young girl's head was bowed, and she was moving slowly, not even looking at Missile or Michiru. Was she attacking again? Michiru hesitated. She didn't want to cause the girl any more pain.

Naru lunged suddenly, catching Michiru off-guard. Missile put himself in front of her, barking, which propelled her attacker back. At this point, Michiru knew what she had to do. It wasn't time to be Michiru, but Sailor Neptune, and Sailor Neptune wasn't one to let a threat get away. "Let her get closer this time," she told the dog. She raised the camera once again, waiting until Naru lunged to take the shot.

Much like the time in the sauna, Naru's scream seemed louder, the reaction more pained. Michiru finally understood that, if she was going to escape, she needed to steel herself. Naru lunged once more, and Michiru pressed the button without mercy, sending the girl screaming and writhing backwards.

Missile whimpered, and Michiru knew that he probably felt bad. Despite the fact that Naru had attacked them a few times before, Missile still didn't like to see her suffering. Naru truly seemed like she'd given up at this point, and that was troubling to Michiru as well.

She swallowed down the guilt in her throat, leaning down to pat Missile on the head before turning back to the door. "Come on. We still have to get out of here."

He whimpered.

The door led to a set of stairs. They were still outside; Michiru could see the stars, and the moon luckily illuminated the ascending steps. Missile yelped as he tried to get his tiny furry body up them, and Michiru stood there, watching him attempt to jump up, only to slide back down.

A giggle burst from her lips.

He only gave her what she assumed was supposed to be an affronted look before attempting again.

She couldn't help it. She put her hand over her mouth, trying to keep it from him, but the laughter kept coming as he tried to get up the stairs. "Would you like some help?" she asked, trying to keep her voice even.

He yipped.

Picking him up and cradling him in her arms, she walked up the stairs, and he merely laid back, begrudgingly enjoying the lazy exercise. They were at the top of the stairs when she finally put him down and he yipped his thanks, nuzzling at her leg.

At the top of the stairs was a shrine, the kanji for "_Narukami_" carved into the door. On the ground was a piece of paper, obviously one of the book excerpts from the typed style.

* * *

_The Legend of the Holy Mirrors (The Mirrors of the Five Gods)_

_The Holy Mirrors, held in five shrines in this region, are most commonly known as "the Mirrors of the Five Gods". The legend tells that the five gods, before leaving this land, created these mirrors as a means of protecting the village._

_Some legends mention another mirror. The story is that all five mirrors were used together in a ritual to fend off a huge disaster (whether this was the Calamity or not is not known.)_

_It is not known whether the ritual mentioned above is related in any way to the one performed by the Himuro family, but there is the correlation of the mirrors._

_However, the actual existence of the legendary Holy Mirror, one complete mirror, has not been confirmed, and it is not known what the legend is based on._

* * *

Michiru furrowed her eyebrows. How random. Five mirrors, somehow related to the Himuro family?

Could it have anything to do with what was happening?

Missile growled and pawed at the door. "I heard something! Someone's inside!" he said, jumping on his hind legs. "Hello! HELLO!"

She quickly opened the door before he started getting even more hyperactive.

The shrine was small and unlit, leaving her flashlight as the only light once again. There was a giant, dark red splotch on the floor that Michiru guessed was probably dried blood, not that she wanted to think about it. She sighed, walking over to the altar inside. Right next to the altar was a large mirror, and in it, she could see Missile bounding around, trying to find whoever he'd heard. On top of the altar itself was a tape, which made her cautious. She hadn't received a tape without an attack for some time now. She waited for a moment before slipping it into the recorder.

"_Naru . . . Naru, don't leave me._"

Michiru froze. She hadn't hit play, which meant that the voice wasn't from the tape. Missile growled, but seemed useless in trying to figure out where it had come from. Indeed, she couldn't see anything either, but that didn't mean that she was about to give up. She glanced down. Hardwood flooring. Up?

Her breath caught in her throat.

Strung up, as if he had been crucified, was Gurio Umino.

As soon as she'd seen him, he dropped down, and she had to throw herself to the ground in order to avoid being crushed. The camera skittered out of her hands as she fell, resting against the wall a mere two meters away. Umino recovered much quicker than she had though, already lunging before she'd found her feet, and Missile bounded in front of her, barking.

The noise echoed around the shrine, but Umino seemed unaffected. His hands raised, and he gave out a whimpered "Naru" before grabbing at Michiru, one hand locked around her ankle.

The feeling of being drowned washed over her immediately, but it was getting stronger the longer he held on. Instinctively, she kicked out, but despite the fact that she couldn't physically harm to him, he didn't offer her the same luxury.

Her fingers dug into the wood floor as she tried to drag herself away from him, but she was well and truly stuck. Giving up on that, she tried to reach out for the camera, but her arms were nowhere near long enough.

This did not look good.

Missile was still barking up a storm, going as far as to jump at him, but the minute that he'd passed through Umino, he suddenly went still.

Oh no, this was not good.

She went back to trying to drag herself away, but the strength was quickly being sapped from her, her arms starting to feel like limp noodles. Her head felt fuzzy, much like it had that time that Naru had ambushed her. She just wanted to lay her head down and sleep. Maybe if she just laid here for a bit, he'd think she was dead and let go. The thought felt so attractive that she let herself relax, slumping against the ground. Just for a moment, and then he'd give up . . .

Something cold and wet hit her face.

She could see Missile's outline as she wrenched her eyes open, could see him nudge something against her, and it took a moment to remind herself how to use her hands to figure out what it was.

The camera.

Just touching the supernatural relic made her remember that she couldn't give up. Her arms shook badly, and she could barely tell what was in the viewfinder, but the runes lit up as she aimed it and hit the shutter button.

The pressure building up in her chest immediately began to dissipate, her vision focusing. Her senshi healing powers were working overtime, but she knew it wasn't going to take much more for Umino to kill her.

She had to do this. For the Princess, for her fellow senshi, for Haruka; they all expected her to come back to them. Ignoring the weakness in her arms, she lifted the camera again. Her vision wasn't perfect, but she could see the outline of the ghost, and Missile nudged the camera with his nose, helping her steady the shot. The shutter closed, and again, Umino shouted, writhing.

And then he disappeared.

"Where is he?" she asked Missile, trying to crane her head around to see. Her legs still felt weak; there was no way she'd be able to sit up yet, let alone stand. Missile sniffed, turning around in a circle before barking for her attention. Of course, he was right behind where her head was; she didn't have the energy to roll over, so she was going to have to shoot blind. She could feel Missile trying to line up her shot, her tired brain contributing by pointing out that this was apparently a dog who knew how to take pictures, which only resulted in a hysterical giggle. She still felt so tired . . .

Missile yelped, and she pressed the shutter button.

This scream was louder, and Umino reappeared briefly back into her sights, clutching at his head, mouthing his girlfriend's name as he sank to the floor, leaving them in silence. Missile had whimpered, once again laying down next to her as she caught her breath. Another close encounter. She wasn't overly fond of how close she was cutting some of these.

She didn't have a choice at this point; she needed to call Haruka. It was going to be a good amount of time before she felt steady enough to get back to her feet, let alone find a way out. She rested the camera on her stomach as she dialed Haruka's senshi communicator. She picked up almost immediately.

_"Michiru?"_ She sounded desperate, and Michiru could guess why; several hours had passed since their last conversation.

"Did you find the princess?" Michiru asked.

_"What? Oh! Yeah! Psh, where have you been all this time?" _Haruka's tone wan't reassuring._ "She's right here, I promise. Say something to Michi."_

_"I can hear them."_ Usagi's distant voice made Michiru all the more concerned.

_"Damnit, why do you keep saying stuff like that?"_

"Ruka, what the hell is going on?" Michiru had been through a lot and she didn't have the patience to put up with her girlfriend's antics.

There was a deep sigh before Haruka responded._ "Shit's getting weird, Michi. I think I know what happened to Rei and Mamoru, and even some of the boyto—"_She cut off suddenly as a male voice said something, and it sounded sort of familiar, but Michiru's brain was too tired to slog through her memory to find it. _"Anyways, we're trying to find a way out of here, but every time we try, something else, um, comes up."_ That last part sounded uncertain, and Michiru couldn't imagine why. _"But enough about us. What about you? Why haven't you called? Are you home? Could you see if my car ever got towed?"_

"I'm still at the Himuro Mansion," she said, stopping her girlfriend while she still had breath. "There was an earthquake; I'm trapped. I don't know what's going on, but I've seen Makoto and I think Umino and Naru are dead and possibly Motoki, and I have no clue how close I am to finding an exit." Her eyes were burning with tears as her voice started to hit hysterics. The situations they were in were both bad; they were so far over their heads that coming up for air seemed like a pipe dream at this point. "None of my senshi powers work on these things and I'm stuck with this damn camera to protect myself. What the hell can a camera do to a ghost? They just keep coming back!" She broke off for air, and Missile nuzzled his face against her neck in an attempt to comfort her.

_"You too, huh?"_ Haruka sounded worried, and Michiru furrowed her eyebrows.

"Too?"

_"Weird old piece of junk, takes pictures of things that aren't there, makes ghosts scream and disappear? Um! Not that we're facing ghosts or anything! There's no such thing, right?"_

"There are two of us. Two cameras. This can't be a coincidence. Whatever happened here at Himuro is somehow connected to wherever you are."

_"Oh god, you're not denying this. We're at Minakami Village. That's what it keeps saying in the notes."_

"Where the hell is that?"

_"Aheh, I'm not quite sure myself. But wherever it is, that's where we're at, and it's got to be connected to the Himuro Mansion if we both have cameras. You find any other senshi yet?"_

"Just Makoto, and she's got something to do with whatever happened to Naru and Umino. I really don't know what's going on." Not to mention she was now out of ideas of where to go. The shrine didn't seem to go anywhere. She was well and truly stuck. "There's a bunch of stuff on rope shrine maidens and now mirrors." The mention of mirrors sparked an idea though, and she slowly got to her feet, trying to ignore how her head swam. She stumbled to the shrine, Missile following her as if to break her fall if her knees gave out. At the front of the shrine were five buddha figures, each marked with red paint on a different part of their bodies; two with one leg, two with one arm, one with the head.

It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out how to arrange them. She put the headless one at the top, and arranged the legs and arms correctly, putting the ones without the left arm or leg on the left side and the right arm or leg on the right side. There was a quiet click, and the wall behind the shrine opened to show a piece of a broken round mirror.

_"Michi?"_

"Sorry, just found something. Part of a mirror." Which was all well and good, but still didn't help her get out. She sighed. "It's not much help though. I don't know what to do with it." She smiled down at Missile, trying to be reassuring. Breaking down like she had just minutes ago hadn't helped any; she needed to continue to be strong and play this smart.

_"Maybe your mirror will know?"_

"It hasn't been much help, believe it or not." There was something prickling at the back of her neck, an odd sensation, and she tried to look around calmly as to not set off Missile. "I think there's too much spiritual power here. Makes it hard to figure out what it needs to focus on."

_"If you say so."_ The prickling was getting stronger, and she could tell by the way Missile tensed that he felt it too. He suddenly began to bark, turned to the mirror. Michiru glanced over, realizing that indeed, there was someone reflected in the mirror. She turned, but there was nothing behind them. Missile's barking was only getting louder, and after a moment, she realized Haruka was calling her name as well, obviously concerned about the commotion. Michiru opened her mouth to respond, only to look over at the mirror once again. The surface was rippling like it was water, obscuring the figure inside, but it was pretty damn obvious who it was. "Makoto?" she asked, all of the alarms in her head going off.

The thunder senshi stepped out of the mirror, clad in the white kimono, white ghostly hands coming from her back. Missile had bounded forward to bark, and a single movement from her had him sailing across the floor, body limp. Michiru took a few steps back, clutching at the mirror shard. Haruka was still calling her name, sounding more worried now, but Michiru's throat was tight as she stared at Makoto in front of her. The front of her kimono was flecked with red, brown hair down, a sinister smile that Michiru had never seen spread across her face. This wasn't Makoto; it looked like Makoto, moved like Makoto, but it couldn't be her.

"Makoto!" she finally managed to shout, her back hitting the wall behind her. There was nowhere to run. "Snap out of it! _Jupiter_!"

Makoto raised a hand, and Michiru finally saw the ropes hanging from her wrists. She reached out, and Michiru instinctively put her hands up to protect herself from whatever awaited her. Makoto's hand closed around one of her wrists, and Michiru was sucked into dark visions, feeling ropes wrap around her neck, wrists, and ankles, getting tighter and tighter. "Makoto!" she shouted, but it didn't stop, only tightening around her more and more until all of the air had escaped from Michiru's lungs. Chest burning, stretched out by ropes, her mouth formed words, but it was useless. All of the resistance fell from her body as she succumbed to an inevitable fate.

* * *

_Notes:_

_ouji-sama_ (王子様）:: Pretty much Japanese for "Prince". There's a little bit of pun there between her situation with Missile and the fact that Haruka has Usagi (the princess). I can't help it; I just love Missile, and calling him Michiru's prince might be too much, but I don't care.

_Narukami (_鳴神):: Narukami is another name for _Raijin_, who is a Shinto deity of Thunder. The kanji literally means "thundering deity". There's also a kabuki play based on a powerful Buddhist saint who doesn't receive a temple from the gods, and so imprisons the Dragon kami, which prevents rain from falling. Eventually, the emperor sends a woman to seduce him (which pretty much works) and once Narukami weds her and falls asleep, she releases the Dragon kami. He, in turn, wakes up and vows revenge on his new wife for her betrayal. There's an interesting bit of symbolism in there for anyone who knows the Fatal Frame series, and I'm pretty sure that the kabuki was what they were referring to when Tecmo decided to name the shrine rather than the Lightning Deity himself.

_Minakami (_皆神) :: Literally "All Gods" and the namesake of the village in Fatal Frame II. Oddly enough, there is a real Minakami Village in Gunma Prefecture (Kanto region) that isn't too far away from Tokyo. In addition, there's a theory on the internet that Minakami Village is based off of Sugisawa Viillage, which was in Aomori Prefecture (Tohoku region), so it's interesting they went with the name Minakami.

* * *

**A/N ::**

**Melody Canta ::**

**Ohmygodthisislong. I thought our Calling chapters got long, but this one was ridiculous. Even so, this means we're a fourth of the way through Part I! Yay. Cliffhanger though. Hopefully it's not too bad; these chapters are long to write and difficult, so I can't imagine the next update is going to be immediate (indeed, I haven't even started working on it. Sigh). This should hopefully be the longest chapter in Part I; the rest of them aren't nearly as long.**

**But, hey, we know about one senshi! And as a way to get you guys more excited about the next chapter, you'll find out about the fate of another one!**

**Apologies for the lateness; between going back to the States for Christmas and running a cosplay group and classes, it's been busy. **

**Shikola Krasno ::**

**Didja miss us and our Missile Mishaps? Say that five times fast. . . Anybody who has played Fatal Frame will probably understand when I say it's tricky to get through that game, so it's even trickier to rewrite it with sailor senshi, that much I promise. And if we thought we had logical fallacies in Calling, hoo boy. Lately I've been asking quite a few questions about the frikkin camera, for example. The games make it seem so simple, BUT THEY EXPLAIN NOTHING! And questioning the key object that has made these games what they are makes everything that much more confusing (thank god I'm not the one who has to write these yet!). Also, the 2nd game uses most of the same mechanics of the 1st, so Melody's making this easy for me. . . We're both screwed come the third. . .**

**But I'm getting ahead of myself (especially considering the rate we've been putting these out lately). I hope this chapter wasn't confusing. Yes, the mansion is HUGE and, structurally, likely more than a little impossible. On top of that, due to my poor sense of direction in both 3D and 2D universes, my own explanations would only make it worse. So if you ever feel lost, just let the simple markers guide you (ie. the armor, the dolls, the waterwheel, etc.), or watch some gameplay and see just why using a camera is so ironic (hint: camera angles SUCK).**

**Still glad anyone puts up with us after our long time off! Who knew having jobs and things like college and an ocean between your cowriter could cause to many delays, right?**


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